


Maria's Adventures: Nintendo Kingdom

by CrossingTheFourthWall



Series: Maria's Adventures [2]
Category: Pokemon, Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comic)
Genre: (meaning: someone gets turned into a Mobian. Three someones), (two OCs and one canon character but Maria's not one of them), Amnesia, Gen, Genetic Experimentation, Sinnoh Region, Team Galactic shenanigans, all Adventure, also written with inexperience in writing, mostly main series Pokemon, second in a long long series, some Pokemon Ranger and Mystery Dungeon things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-21 15:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 47
Words: 154,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11360364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossingTheFourthWall/pseuds/CrossingTheFourthWall
Summary: Something's afoot in the Sinnoh region -- Team Galactic is experimenting, a race of beings is starting to reappear (or make their first appearance?) and there's one Trainer who is going to be mixed up in all of it very very quickly. The question isn't whether or not she'll be able to handle it -- it's whether or not she'll be able to remember what she already knows.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> An amnesia fic! Sorta. I started writing this one with the intent that Maria wasn't going to be involved, but then all of a sudden she was, so I needed to come up with a reason that would cover why she didn't know a thing about Atlantis or the like. Amnesia was a bit of a cop-out, but it actually worked. It meant I had to go back and write up something that covered what happened to Maria before, but I have a collection of One-Shots that sort-of covers that.

            "Sir, are you sure that you're okayed to go through on this new project? You know that you are -"

            "Yes, I know, Catherine." A short, old man in a lab coat looked up over his spectacles at the woman, who was wearing identical attire. "And yes, I am. This project is going to be the height of my career."

            "Is it going to be bigger than the Rotom project, Mr. Charon?" Catherine guessed, brushing back her dark red hair with one hand.

            "Bigger than even what that foolish boy is planning to do," Charon replied boldly. He looked up and ginned hugely at the steel ceiling above him. "Even he does not know what I dare to truly attempt at this very moment." He glanced through an open door to the adjoining room, where his grandson was busy putting together the machine needed for the creation of the weapon their boss required. Charon walked over and closed the door gently, so as not to disturb the boy's work. That child was not involved in this, and didn't need to know of what was about to take place.

            Charon looked at his young accomplice, chosen as his personal assistant. "Have you heard of the rumors and myths concerning the PokeMorphs?" he inquired.

            "You mean the strange creatures of legend that were able to become human or Pokemon at will?" Catherine asked, remembering a children's book she had read in a library. "What about those myths? You know as well as I that they don't exist."

            Charon chuckled as he moved over to a computer and started to press its keys. "Our ancestors saw them as creatures who could switch back and forth at will," the scientist remarked, "but they were actually much more than that. More than mythical creatures that disappeared into the forests and hills more than a thousand years ago."

            Catherine looked confused. "What do you mean, sir? More than Pokemon and human? And how is it even possible that they could have existed?"

            Charon looked at his assistant, a smirk on his face.

            "The legends were what our ancestors saw the creatures as, as I said before," the old man stated. "I've found that, if we take the ancient carvings and translate them, we end up with multiple stories of creatures with powers beyond our understanding. In our time, we consider them Pokemon. However, if we look deeper into the remains of the tales in the ruins, you can see that there are events that show that these creatures are not being trained by humans, and are also doing these things by themselves. They reached heights that no normal Pokemon, so-called 'Legendary' or otherwise, should be capable of reaching. I think that these 'Mobians,' as they were called in the ancient texts, are a mix between human and Pokemon, what we have come to call as 'PokeMorphs'."

            He nodded at his assistant, a look of satisfaction coming over his face. "That is our experiment; I am going to attempt to create one of these creatures using present-day science."

            "Is that why you needed the girl?" Catherine asked. She motioned to the opaque glass cylinder that was located nearby; pipes connected to the top went off in separate directions into the ventilation and sewer systems. Inside, there was a dark shadow of a figure who seemed to be suspended midair. "Are you going to attempt this experiment to her?"

            "That is correct," Charon confirmed. He pressed a red button on the keyboard, causing three small, cylindrical containers to rise up from storage containers in a nearby console. Inside each were brown, stone slivers. "I am going to attempt to create such a creature, using these."                The assistant bent forward in order to get a closer look at the stone slivers.

            "These? What are they?" Catherine asked, frowning. "Fossilized Pokemon hairs?"

            "Fossilized _Mobian_ hairs," her boss corrected. "I found them on Cyrus' clothing after he had returned from a trip to Mt. Coronet. Of course, he has no idea that I took them from his uniform before they went through the wash."

            Charon chuckled to himself. "I've tested all three of the hairs, and they seem to come from three different creatures. They are neither Pokemon nor human, as they have a different structure of DNA. These hairs are most certainly, in my opinion, PokeMorph hairs."

            His assistant became amazed. "Which one are you going to use on her?"

            Charon gave her a bemused look, only for a mischievous twinkle to enter his eyes. The old man cackled. "Why, all three containers, of course! I want to see what would happen to a human if I combined three different DNA strands." He picked up the cylinders and walked over to the large glass cylinder, putting the three hairs in three slots at the base of the cylinder. A moment later, the hairs were expelled into the larger container and out of their sight.

            "Now, the essence of the hairs will be absorbed into her skin, and hopefully accepted by her DNA," Charon told Catherine. "It will take some time, but we should see a change in her genetic makeup eventually." He turned and started to leave the room, but then noticed that Catherine wasn't following him. He turned and looked back at his assistant. "Is something bothering you?"

            "What will happen to her?" the woman asked, sounding concerned. She moved her gaze from the cylinder to the scientist. "Will she even survive?"

            Charon shrugged. "As if I even know. She might awaken from her coma, she might not. It has been said that a few of the creatures had fast-acting healing abilities that seemed to allow them to cheat death in the most sticky of situations. Perhaps, we will get lucky, and this ability will add itself to her genetic makeup and cause her to wake up faster."

            Catherine sent one last look at the cylinder, then reluctantly followed Charon out of his lab.

**Spacial Break**

            "Hey! Wait up, Barry! You know we can't go out without a Pokemon on hand."

            A yellow-haired boy standing in front of a large patch of tall grass turned to look back at the approaching teen girl. "I know that. But if we run really fast in order to get to Sandgem, we'll be able to avoid any Pokemon that could try to attack us."

            The girl frowned, her blue eyes looking over at the other with concern. "That's not going to work," she warned. "I've tried it."

            Barry snorted. "Well, that's when you tried it. I'm probably faster than you are." He turned and backed up, ready to take off at a run into the grass.

            "STOP!"

            Barry froze midstep, then turned to look behind him. The girl turned as well in order to see who had called.

            "Professor Rowan?" the girl asked. "What are you doing coming from Lake Verity?"

            "We were observing something at the lake," another boy explained, standing next to the white-haired man. He looked over at Barry. "What were you thinking, trying to take off like that?"

            "I wanted to get a Pokemon from Professor Rowan," Barry replied with a shrug. "I thought that -"

            "The Pokemon in the area, weak though they are, would make you wish you'd thought of a better idea," the girl scolded.

            Professor Rowan gave a nod. "Maria is right, although I doubt that she has gotten into a situation like that."

            "I nearly did, but I was lucky that another professor caught me in time," Maria replied, rubbing the back of her head. Noticing that her red and white baseball cap was somewhat out of place, she adjusted it by grabbing the bill and pulling down. The design on the front - a blue buzzsaw-like shape - was the only bit of blue that Maria was wearing. "He ended up giving the Pokemon he caught to another Trainer later."

            "I'm guessing it wasn't you," Barry muttered.

            "No," Maria replied, shaking his head. "That went to a certain Pallet Town boy." She looked over at Professor Rowan. "I've been meaning to talk to you about it, too, but the Pokemon kept me away, and whenever I tried to call, you were out."

            "I have been traveling for some time," Professor Rowan replied, looking at Maria thoughtfully. "I can understand that you would want to get some excitement in your life at this time, but I must ask the both of you one question."

            "Anything," Maria answered readily.

            "Do you truly love Pokemon?"

            "Yes."

            Barry nodded in agreement. "I do too!"

            "You make me wonder," Rowan said, looking at Barry. "There are some things that Trainers do, and running about recklessly into tall grass is not one of them."

            "That's because I wanted a Pokemon!" Barry argued. "I love Pokemon - I really do!"

            "Hmmmm..." Rowan looked at the boy standing next to him, who was holding a briefcase in his hand. "What do you think, Lucas?"

            "Well, Maria I trust," the boy remarked, adjusting the white scarf around his neck thoughtfully. "But I'm not so sure about Barry. He's pretty reckless sometimes."

            "Perhaps giving him a Pokemon will teach him a lesson in patience," Maria suggested with a shrug. "That sort of thing has happened before."

            Professor Rowan gained a thoughtful expression. "Perhaps." He looked over at Lucas. "You may as well let them choose."

            Lucas frowned, then nodded and set the suitcase off the ground and opened the clasps. Inside, among a collection of papers, were three red and white spheres.

            "Three PokeBalls, one choice," Lucas stated, nodding to the other two. "Maria, you know what you're doing - why don't you pick first?"

            Maria nodded. "Right." She got down on her knees and started to inspect the spheres. After a moment, she reached out and grabbed one of the spheres. "I choose this one."

            Barry snatched one of the other PokeBalls. "And I'll take this one." He looked over at Maria and grinned. "How about we have our first battle?"

            Maria smirked in response. "I don't see why not." She shifted her grip on the PokeBall. "Lucas, think you can referee?"

            Lucas gave a nod. "Of course."

            "All right, then!" Barry grinned. "Let's go!"

            Two flashes lit up the Route as two Pokemon cries went up to the sky...


	2. Awakening and Escape

            "A mere Trainer has already started to cause Cyrus' plans to collapse in on themselves," Charon muttered angrily as he unlocked the door to his lab. "I can tell she and her friends aren't going to stop at just the Valley Windworks." With a frustrated growl, he finally got the door to fully unlock and he kicked the door open with a low-resounding clang.

            "What are you going to do about the Trainer?" Catherine asked as they walked into Charon's personal lab. "I've heard that she has caused trouble to others before."

            "I'll leave it up to my fellow Commanders to decide," the old scientist replied grumpily as he looked around, making sure that nothing was out of place. "That child is none of my concern at the present, especially considering my rank among the others in training..." He trailed off when his gaze moved to the glass cylinder in the corner, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Well, well. This is certainly...unexpected."

            Catherine frowned, then moved her gaze to the cylinder, as well. Her own eyes widened in surprise. "Impossible..."

            During the last few months that the lab had been left nearly untouched, the cylinder had gone from opaque to transparent, and the figure within - the girl Charon had procured - had transformed. No longer was she even remotely human except in that it appeared as though she could have stood on her own two feet - and that she was wearing clothes.

            Charon walked around the cylinder in amazement, looking at the about three foot tall, furry red and peach-colored creature. He lingered on the twin tails with white tips, and the sharp, saw blade-like bits of fur that stuck out from the back of the creature's head and nearly over the orange jacket she was wearing.

            "My my," Charon breathed as he looked over the dreadlocks that came down the sides of the creature's face and started up at the red triangular ears. "I never expected the transformation to be this drastic. In either bodily form..." He noticed the yellow running shoes with a red thunderbolt pattern, and yellow fingerless gloves with white rings on the wrist.

            "...or in her clothing," Charon added.

            "Or so sudden," Catherine added, looking over the child. "I would have expected six months or a couple of years at least, not just...three."

            "It certainly is strange," Charon agreed. He moved over to the computer and started to look through the log. After a moment, he remarked, "Well, she seems stable." He looked back at the creature again. "All we have to do is wait for her to wake up."

            He looked back at the computer and started to open up files, double checking what Saturn had done in the adjoining room. "The other project is going smoothly, as well. It won't be long until the hunt for the rest of the components begins."

            Catherine nodded and started going through another one of the computers' logs, then stated to stiffen as she felt someone's eyes on start to burn into the back of her head. She turned slowly, glancing around. Charon hadn't been the one to look in her direction; he was still looking into the computer he had started on.

            It was the girl - no, the PokeMorph - that was staring at her.

            "Charon..." Catherine called out nervously.

            Charon let out an annoyed sigh and looked up, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "What is it?" Then he noticed what his assistant was staring at.

            The PokeMorph was awake, and staring at both of them with dark brown eyes that looked like they had seen many things and weren't necessarily fazed by being trapped in a lab.

            Charon's eyes widened in surprise and excitement. "This is incredible," he breathed. "It worked." He looked at Catherine. "We need to go back to Mt. Coronet and gather more hairs. I must recreate this with more subjects and with different combinations."

            The brown eyes, which had been moving around the lab, stopped on Charon, who had been moving emphatically as he had been speaking. It didn't seem like the PokeMorph attached to the eyes could hear what was being said, there was a look on her face that clearly said that she did not like what she saw. The PokeMorph's attention was quickly moved to her own form, and the brown eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the form that she was now entrapped in.

            _CRASH!_

Charon and Catherine looked up sharply at the sound of the crashing glass, their eyes widening when they saw the PokeMorph on one knee at the bottom of the shattered cylinder, liquid and glass shards pooling out over the floor of the lab.

            Charon's watery blue eyes widened as the brown eyes of the PokeMorph looked up at him with a determined frown as two pairs of large spikes retracted into the figure's knuckles without breaking the gloves.

            "Who are you?" the PokeMorph growled. "And where am I?"

            Charon blinked at the question, but then adapted a wry smile and took a step forward. "I am Charon." He motioned to the room around them. "And this is my lab, where I enhanced you."

            "Is that what you call this?" the girl demanded. "Enhancements?! More like a mutation! Change me back!"

            "I'm afraid I can't do that, miss...."

            "Scarlet."

            "Yes, well, I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss Scarlet," Charon stated calmly.

            "Why not?" Scarlet growled as she rose to her feet.

            "The Mobian DNA was accepted into your system, as unbelievable as that may sound. The process is irreversible, and, to be honest, I don't think that I would want to reverse it if I could." Charon's smile turned a bit twisted as he looked over Scarlet's new form.

            Scarlet gritted her teeth and started towards Charon. Catherine moved between the two, reaching for the PokeBall on her belt.

            "What in Arceus' name is a 'Mobian'?" Scarlet asked darkly as she continued to approach.

            "A PokeMorph," Charon replied calmly. "One of the creatures of legend."

            Scarlet's eyes widened, and she took a step back. "Wh-what?" She shook her head and gained a determined expression. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

            "He isn't," Catherine replied, still standing defensively. "He injected the DNA into your system a few months ago. You've been in a coma for longer."

            Scarlet blinked in surprise at this, taking a step back. Then she looked around the lab and down at herself. "Where is my Ranger uniform? And my Styler?"

            "You didn't have those things when you were placed into our custody," Catherine stated. "They have been removed from you and replaced."

            Oddly enough, Scarlet looked relieved to hear this, but a concerned look came across her face, before quickly turning into an expression of anger as she snarled at the two of them. "You shouldn't have gotten custody of me in the first place if you were going to do this to me!'

            Charon didn't notice Scarlet's plight, and instead was imagining her doing exactly what the Legendary Mobians once did...now under his command.

            "This is incredible!" he muttered to himself as Catherine and Scarlet continued to glare at each other. "I finally have what I need to find the others!"

            He thought that no one would have been able to hear him, but Scarlet's ears twitched as Charon continued to mutter about his own plans. Her eyes narrowed, and she turned her eyes towards the door and lunged for it, planning on making her escape now.

            A second before Scarlet could have slipped out, Catherine's Purugly was standing in the doorway, puffing herself up and hissing.

            "You are not leaving," Catherine said in a determined tone.

            "Says you!" Scarlet spat back as she brought back her left arm. The spikes hiding in her knuckles suddenly revealed themselves as Scarlet slammed the fist into the gray and white cat Pokemon in front of her, sending it flying back into a wall outside of the lab. Mere moments later, Scarlet had left the lab, leaving behind the knocked-out Purugly, a shocked Catherine, and a rather surprised-looking Charon.

            The head scientist gained a wide grin that almost made him appear devilish. "It seems that we are about to have a test run for my new project." He turned to look at Catherine and barked, "Get me a connection! I need to warn the grunts that my experiment is loose. Perhaps they will be enough of a block to slow her down so that I will be able to stop her from leaving."

            Catherine gave a nod. "Right." She quickly moved to one of the computers and came back with a microphone, giving it to Charon.

            The scientist gave a curt nod in response, grinning. That changed to a serious frown as he cleared his throat, then barked into the microphone, "Attention all grunts!"

**Scarlet's POV**

            _::One of my experiments has escaped from the lab. Whoever captures it and brings it to me alive will receive a promotion! If it comes back to be dead, your Pokemon will be taken from you and you will be demoted to permanent sanitation duty!::_

            Scarlet winced at the loudspeaker. "I don't remember those things being so loud before..." She shook her head. "I can't get distracted; I've got to find a way out of here so that I can get back to Ranger HQ and warn the others about what's going on!"

            Scarlet came to the end of the hall and up a set of stairs; as soon as she reached the top, she started looking around and mentally scrambled for a way that she could possibly go next.

            "There it is!"

            Scarlet turned sharply when she heard the barking voice, catching sight of a man standing behind her. She blinked a bit in confusion as she looked up in order to see the man's face. _Is this guy a giant? Or did I shrink?_

            As she looked up, she noticed the weird, white and black uniform that the man was wearing, as well as the green wig that happened to be on top of his head.

            Scarlet smirked. "And I thought Team Dim Sun looked weird."

            The man bristled. "Hey! Don't make fun of the Team Galactic uniform!" When Scarlet's smirk didn't vanish, the man grabbed a PokeBall and threw it. "Go, Zubat! Don't let this thing out of the building!"

            As soon as the bat Pokemon exploded out of the PokeBall, Scarlet reacted on instinct, reaching for her left wrist. She paused a moment later, blinking when she remembered that she didn't have her Styler on her anymore, and simply opted for slamming a fist down on the Zubat instead, remembering that she'd managed to knock the Purugly out in one hit. The Pokemon instantly lost altitude and slammed to the floor, knocked out.

            The Team Galactic member -- one of the grunts -- looked shocked when he saw Scarlet take his Pokemon out in one hit. Scarlet glared up at him and raised a fist, sending the man running off in the direction he had come from. Then Scarlet turned and ran off in the other direction, turning corners and running up and down stairs as she continued to knock out Pokemon and send grunts scattering left and right.

            By the time that she had managed to reach the lobby after giving Galatic grunts -- and herself -- the run-around, there were three grunts waiting for her in front of the front doors.

            "Is that the experiment?" one of the grunts asked the others.

            "Looks like it," a second replied. "I wonder what got into Charon's head to make such a thing?"

            Scarlet gritted her teeth as she glared at the three grunts. "Let me by!" She swung a punch at the grunt standing in the middle, only for a PokeBall to explode open, causing her fist to come into contact with a levitating, blue metal disk.

            "Yow!" Scarlet stumbled back, rubbing her knuckles and glaring at the Bronzor. "Why you little--"

            The third Galactic grunt laughed. "Serves you right! Bronzor, use Confusion on that freak!"

            Scarlet flinched as the mental attack grated against her mind, causing her vision to blur. She shook her head, trying to clear her vision, then started moving, lashing out at anything that tried to move towards her with what she guessed was evil intent. By the time that her vision cleared, the lobby was clearly a mess, and the three grunts who had been coming at her were lying curled up on the floor, gripping their stomachs, legs, or heads.

            Scarlet blinked in confusion for a moment at the sight, then shook her head and ran out of the building, becoming nearly blinded by the sunlight.

            Scarlet shook her head. "Okay, at least I know it's day, but where --" She looked out over the city below, blinking when she saw all the stone that the buildings were sitting on, elevated. "...am I?"

            "We are in the Sinnoh region. Veilstone City, to be more precise."

            Scarlet turned sharply when she heard the familiar voice, a snarl appearing on her face when she saw Charon coming out of the building behind her, followed by Catherine.

            "Now, why don't you come back inside?" Charon asked, a twisted smile on his face despite the warm tone of his voice. Scarlet was quick to notice the farce.

            "Why should I?" she demanded harshly.

            "You are the only one of your kind. Why wander about the world and die a lonely death when you can stay here while I make more, so you won't be lonely?"

            "Definitely not tempted," Scarlet growled in reply. She clenched her right fist and pointed it at him, instinctively summoning the spikes hiding in her knuckles. She looked at them with surprise for a moment before returning her glare to Charon; she'd figure out what exactly they were and how they worked later. "I am not an animal that you can just order around, and I'm not about to _ask_ you to do this to _more people._ I'm leaving."

            With that said, Scarlet turned and started running down the stairs and into the town before quickly leaving it. The stares she got from some of the locals definitely didn't go unnoticed.

            This made Charon's words hit her in the face.

            "I've got to figure out what I am," Scarlet muttered as she ran into the trees. "I'm not human, and I'm not Pokemon. I'm not in Almia, either...now, where did Hastings say the Professor lived in Sinnoh?"

            Scarlet thought back to when she had been Top Ranger Scarlet Igel, taking quests from Rangers and others while learning things about the other regions on the sly.

            She wished this hadn't happened -- that she hadn't been caught with her guard down like this.

            And that she'd been taken so far from home.


	3. Where's White?

            Scarlet wasn't entirely sure how long it'd been since she'd started running from Veilstone, but she couldn't help but feel that the movement of running was now something that felt...good, surprisingly.

            So good, in fact, that she didn't notice that she'd manage to arrive in Sandgem and dash up a tree until she finally stopped for a breather.

            "Whoa!" Scarlet sat down on the thick branch she'd managed to run to, blinking in surprise. "This is...h-how did I _do_ that? That couldn't have been longer than ten minutes! Maybe less!" She looked down at her own hands, a confused expression on her face as she looked over the gloves and and her form. "What kind of power is this? What did that old man _do_ to me?"

            There came a gasp from below Scarlet, and she looked down as a little girl with a yellow dress and a red bow in her dark hair ran off for a building, calling, "Dad! Dad!"

            A man with dark hair and wearing a lab coat came out, followed by an older man with white hair wearing a lab coat over a sweater-vest.

            "Something wrong, Lily?" the younger man asked as he got down onto his knees in front of the girl.

            "There's this Pokemon I've never seen before, up in the tree!" Lily pointed up to where Scarlet was sitting. "It looks like a red Sandslash, and it talks!"

            The two men looked at each other.

            The younger of the two chuckled. "Lily, there is no way that a Pokemon like that could exist."

            Scarlet's tails dropped below the branch she was sitting on, brushing the older man's head with them. "Tell that Meowth I had to track about a year ago," she said to the three below her. Noticing their looks of surprise, she said, "Look, I just ran from Veilstone in order to get away from those Team Galactic goons who did this to me. I need to contact Professor Hastings asap so that I can see if he knows anything about changing me back!"

            "Team Galactic?" the older of the two repeated.

            Scarlet slipped off the branch and landed on the ground in front of the them. "Yeah. I've got no idea what they're planning, but if they turned me into a PokeMorph, then they're going to get a lot of trouble from me and the Rangers, I can promise that!"

            The older man looked worried. "Rangers...? Oh, dear. Come with me." He turned and went back into the building he had come out of. Scarlet followed after him.

            As soon as they arrived inside, Scarlet looked around with raised eyebrows at the odd mix between a lab and a home. There were computers and other science equipment on one side, and on the other side, there was a bed and other such things needed for everyday life.

            "You mentioned Professor Hastings?" the older man said as he started typing on a computer.

            Scarlet nodded. "Yeah; before this happened, I was Top Ranger Scarlet."

            The older man paused, as if recognizing the name. "You don't mean the one that stopped Team Dim Sun, do you?"

            "Yeah, that's right." Scarlet nodded. "How'd you know?"

            "My dear, you have been all over the news. If you don't know, I'm Professor Rowan." Rowan looked at Scarlet a little more carefully. "Did you say that Team Galactic turned you into a...PokeMorph?"

            Scarlet nodded. "Yeah. Some guy named Charon decided it might be a good idea to mess with my DNA. Now, could you please contact Professor Hastings?"

            "I've already established a connection."

            A screen appeared on a blank wall near Scarlet, and she turned to face it as the Ranger Union Communications floor appeared there. A grin appeared on her face when she saw an old man with a cane, three brown haired, brown-eyed Rangers -- two boys and one girl -- a Pachirisu, and a Pichu with a blue ukelele on his back.

            _::Professor Rowan!::_ Hastings exclaimed. _::What a pleasant surprise!::_

"I'm afraid I'm not calling because of pleasant matters, old friend," Rowan replied. "It seems we have a bit of a problem."

            _::Oh?::_ Hastings frowned. _::Of what sort?::_

            "Of _my_ sort," Scarlet replied, stepping forward. "Hey, guys. It's been a while."

            The Pachirisu's ears pricked up at the sound of her voice. :: _Pachi?::_

_::Professor, what is that thing?::_ the boy Ranger in the red, black, and white uniform asked, pointing at Scarlet. :: _It looks like a cross between a Sandslash and a Vulpix!::_

_::Is it a new Pokemon?::_ the girl Ranger in a red and blue uniform asked.

            "Not quite, Keith, Summer," Scarlet replied, shaking her head. "And yeah, Zap, it's me. Remember, when we met on Nabiki Beach when you were with the Munchlax and the Starly?"

            The little Electric-Type's eyes widened. _::_ _PACHI!_ _::_ he exclaimed, running up to the monitor. _::_ _Pachi pachi riii suuu?_ _::_

_::What happened to you?::_ asked the other boy Ranger, who was wearing a uniform similar to Summer's -- Ben, Scarlet remembered his name was.

            "Some group named Team Galactic decided that being human wasn't what I was _supposed_ to be, and they turned me into something that some old man called a PokeMorph," Scarlet replied, folding her arms across her chest. "He said he wasn't going to change me back, either."

            _::That's horrible!::_

_::What exactly is a PokeMorph, anyway?::_ Keith frowned, scratching his head. _::You definitely don't look like any kind of Pokemon that_ I've _seen before::_

            Rowan shook his head. "I believe that Scarlet's present form is not that of a Pokemon, but that of an _ancestor_ to Pokemon."

            "An ancestor?" Scarlet looked at Rowan, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

            "According to the ancient texts that one of my colleagues has been studying, it seems as though these creatures lived with humans before Mew came around. They did things that no one else could at the time, and they were actually considered heroes by the community. Some sort of incident caused them to wipe out, and for Pokemon to come into existence. The more generations that saw only Pokemon, the more they forgot about the other creatures, until they only referred to them as 'PokeMorphs'."

            Scarlet considered that, frowning. "Charon -- the Galactic nut who did this to me -- called the DNA he put into me 'Mobian.' And then he called me a PokeMorph. Maybe he knows something about them that no one else does."

            Rowan gave a slight shrug. "That could be possible, but we won't know for certain until a discovery is made in the ruins that are scattered all over the world. I doubt that even the Sinnoh Champion and her grandmother have come across such proof.

            Hastings, who had looked like he had been lost in thought since Scarlet had spoken up, frowned deeply, his brow furrowing. _::Well, this is quite a predicament. One of our best Rangers, turned into some sort of creature that predates Pokemon::_ He looked at Rowan. _::Has this...Team Galactic caused any other trouble?::_

            "Well, one of the three Trainers I recently sent out has been running into them quite often," Rowan admitted. "She called yesterday and said that she had defeated a Commander of their's at the Valley Windworks, which is not very far from Floraroma Town."

_::All by herself?::_ Ben guessed.

            Rowan nodded. "They had wanted the electricity for something. If memory serves, whenever a team shows up and starts doing things like this, then that usually means they're going to interfere with Maria's journey - a lot."

            Scarlet frowned. "Do you mean to say that this is something that has happened before to her? But if she's a new Trainer, then she shouldn't have any experience with that."

            "Maria is far different from what most people might think at first glance," Rowan replied. "I suppose that most people in the world would be more familiar with her last name -- White."

            Scarlet and the figures on the other side of the monitor stiffened at Rowan's words.

            _::White?!::_ Ben exclaimed. _::You don't mean the Trainer who's already a Champion in three other regions, do you?::_

            "The Trainer who took out Team Rocket, Team Aqua, _and_ Team Magma?" Scarlet added, eyes wide. "She's _here_? In this region? Right now?"

            _::Let me go to Sinnoh, Professor!::_ Summer burst out. _::I want to get back at these guys for doing what they did to Scarlet, and help that Trainer out, too!::_

_::Me, too::_ Keith agreed, nodding.

_::And me::_ Ben added.

            _::Pach-chi!::_ Zap exclaimed.

            _::Pi-chu!::_ Pichu agreed.

            Hastings shook his head. _::I think this is out of our jurisdiction, Rangers::_

_::WHAT?!::_ Keith, Ben, and Summer stared at Hastings with aghast expressions.

_::But why?::_ Summer asked.

            "Because, as past experiences state, whenever a Team rises up and White butts heads with them, she is usually the one who is capable of taking care of the problem," Rowan replied calmly.

            Hastings nodded in agreement. _::And, while something has changed in that Scarlet has been changed into what she is at present, I doubt that we are going to be able to do very much until Maria White gives us an opening to do so::_

            "If anything, I'd like to _give_ her that opening," Scarlet said, clenching her fists. "Charon's gonna pay for taking advantage of me getting knocked out by that ex-Dim Sun's Tauros." She paused, considering what she had just said. "How long have I been out, anyway?"

            _::Three months::_ Keith said moodily.

            Scarlet's eyes widened in shock. "That long? I'd have thought that I'd been gone longer because of what I've been turned into!" She looked down at her new, furry body as her expression turned into disgust. That faded as Scarlet looked back up at her friends again. "What have you guys been doing while I've been gone?"

            _::Quests::_ Summer replied. _::We haven't had any big trouble like Dim Sun or the Pokemon Snatchers, so it's been pretty quiet::_ She gained a determined expression. _::When you find White, make sure she knows that we're ready to jump in at any time::_

            "You got it," Scarlet replied, giving Summer a thumbs-up.

            _::Do you think you're going to need your Styler?::_ Hastings asked. _::If you like, we could send it to you, but it would take a few days by Staraptor::_

            Scarlet frowned in response to Hasting's question, considering the Professor's offer. She looked down at her own gloved hands for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. "I think I'll have to get back to you on that. A lot of people out there are probably going to think that I'm a Pokemon, and if they see me using my Styler, that might turn more heads than I would like right now. Besides, I'm not defenseless." To prove her point, Scarlet clenched her fists, causing the spikes from before to rise up for a moment before they retracted.

            The Rangers, Professors, and Pokemon looked startled at the display.

_::What did they_ do _to you?::_ Ben asked, anger in his voice.

            Scarlet shrugged and shook her head. "As if I even know what DNA that old man put into me. The only way I'll probably ever find out is if I go help that Trainer and hunt down Charon and beat it out of him." She looked at Rowan. "Where is she now?"

            "She could be anywhere between Eternia and Floraroma," the professor replied.

            Scarlet nodded in response, then looked back at the monitor -- specifically, at the Pachirisu who was watching her with a sorrowful expression. "Don't worry, Zap. I can take care of myself. If I need any help, though, I'll let you guys know. You can hold me to that."

            _::And we will::_ Keith promised. _::The minute we get the word, we're coming right over::_

            "And I'll hold _you_ to that," Scarlet said with a chuckle.

_::Be careful, Scarlet::_ Summer said.

            "Relax, Summer. I will be."

            _::Farewell, Scarlet::_ Hastings said with a nod. _::May your Mission go well::_

            And with that, the monitor went black.

            Scarlet turned and looked at Rowan as the monitor disappeared into the wall. "Looks like I'd better head to Eternia."

            Rowan nodded, then handed Scarlet a red and black device that she'd only seen from afar before. "Take this PokeDex. If you discover anything about your present form, I would appreciate it if you world record it; what you find out could unlock more secrets about Pokemon, as well as the ancient past." Then he handed over a map. "I don't know if you have every region committed to memory, but this might be a good idea to bring along, as well."

            Scarlet nodded in agreement. "Right; no use running in circles. Thanks for the help, Professor." She slipped the map and the Dex into pockets on the inside of her orange jacket, then turned and started for the door, only to pause when she saw Lily standing there with a small, yellow device in her hands.

            "Here. You'll need this!" Lily handed over the device, then stepped back as Scarlet turned it over in her hands. "You'll need it if you want to keep in touch with us and anybody else."

            Scarlet blinked, then realized that she'd been handed a PokeGear, one of the devices that Trainers always carried around with them. She smiled. "Thanks, Lily." She looked back at Rowan. "I'll let you know when I meet up with White."

            Rowan nodded in reply. "As my colleague would say, 'hurry, hurry, hurry'!"

            Scarlet nodded in agreement then slipped out the door and ran out of town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maria's coming, just give her a bit of time. We've already seen hints of her, but she'll make her appearance in here soon enough.


	4. Misplaced Mobian

            "Man, ask one kid for directions and the whole town is suddenly breathing down your neck! What up with those guys, anyway? Haven't they seen a hedgehog before?"

            A blue creature with red and white shoes was lying in a tree with his eyes shut, and in a much more relaxed position than Scarlet had been. At first glance, this figure looked like a blue Sandslash which had mutated to the point of almost seeming to be human. However, another glance reveals that this "hedgehog" is no Pokemon. The spines on the back of his head were too long to be a Sandslash's spines, and the "shoes" he wore seemed to be artificially made, including the gold buckle on each. Same with the white gloves on his hands. Not only that, but the cobalt colored creature had peach colored areas: his arms, snout, and the stomach/chest area.

            The hedgehog's ears twitched, and he opened his eyes, revealing emerald green irises, and stood up on its branch. "What was that?" he muttered. He looked around, seeming to search for something. Then, he heard the noise again: someone was calling out for help.

            The hedgehog jumped from tree to tree expertly, looking around for the source of the call. When he finally stopped and looked down, he found the source of the problem.

            A little boy was being beaten up by a weird-looking guy with green hair.

            "Hey, buddy," the hedgehog called down. "What do you think you're doing to that poor kid?"

            "He won't give me his Pokemon, and I beat him fair and square," the man replied. "So buzz off!"

            The hedgehog frowned. _Pokemon? Never heard of that before. Is that what they call the animals around here? Well, whatever they are, this guy seems pretty certain about having that kid's creatures, but I'm not gonna let him._

            The hedgehog jumped off his perch and landed on the man's back, pushing him to the ground as the hedgehog jumped off into a front flip.

            The man scrambled to his feet and whirled to face the hedgehog. "Why you little-" He suddenly stopped when he saw what he was talking to, but then he got an evil grin on his face. Pulling out a red and white ball, he threw it at the hedgehog.

            The hedgehog batted it away with a gloved hand. "If that's supposed to scare me, it ain't working."

            The man glared at him and charged, ready to punch the hedgehog, only to find that he was hitting nothing but air.

            "Too slow," the hedgehog taunted from where he stood behind the man. He then jumped up and pushed the man with his feet, sending his target rocketing into a nearby tree, where he collapsed.

            The hedgehog turned to the boy and started to help him up, only to discover that the dark haired-boy was unconscious.

            A small, brown bird flew onto a branch above the hedgehog's head, curious. The hedgehog spotted it.

            "Where's the nearest town?" he asked. "This kid's in really bad shape."

            The bird jumped off the branch and started flying off. The hedgehog, after picking up the boy, followed.

            "I haven't seen your kind of Pokemon before," the bird said to the hedgehog. "What are you?"

            "First off, I'm not a Poke-whatever, I'm a Mobian," the hedgehog explained. "Second, the name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."

            The bird gave Sonic a weird look. "Mobian?" he repeated. "I've never heard of that before."

            Sonic stared. "Seriously? Nobody's heard of my kind around here? But we're all over the place -- there's got to be Mobians around here somewhere!"

            The bird shook his head. "Sorry about that. Maybe one of the humans can explain. The name's Paul, by the way. I'm a Pidgey."

            "Nice to meet you. How far are we from town?"

            "Not far," the bird twittered. "Just past those trees up ahead. Then we'll be in Pallet Town."

            The duo moved out of the trees and stopped for a moment on a small rise over a small collection of houses, surrounded by a grassy plain.

            Sonic smiled a bit. "Cool. Almost feels like home."

            "Really?" Paul landed on Sonic's shoulder, interested. "What's that place like?"

            "Kinda like this, but a little more woodsy. I'm used to living in a forest, but I guess humans and Overlanders have different ideas about that." Sonic looked around for a moment, then started down the rise and into the town at an even pace. "So, where's the nearest hospital?"

            "The closest we can get to that is the Professor's place."

            "Where?" Sonic noticed that people were coming out of their homes and looking out through windows at him as he went by. If they had been staring at him with wide eyes and open mouths for a different reason, he would have smirked.

            "Up there." Paul flew off Sonic's shoulder and moved towards the other side of town, where a house with a windmill behind it was sitting on top of a nearby hill.

            Sonic nodded, glancing down for a moment to make sure that the kid he was carrying was still okay. Then he looked up at the bird. "Come on!"

            With that as the hedgehog's only signal, he picked up his pace, nearly leaving Paul in the dust as the bird flapped his wings as fast as he could in order to keep up.

            It didn't take too long for Sonic to barge down the door. "Hey! This kid might need medical attention or something!"

            An old man with gray hair and blue eyes and wearing a lab coat looked at Sonic and Paul in surprise. A young woman with blue eyes, brown hair that was up in pigtails, and a red, black, and white uniform of some kind, looked more shocked and confused than anything else.

            "Well, don't just stand there!" Sonic barked. "This kid got beaten up by some weird-looking guy with green hair! He could've done something to him!"

            At that, the old man ran over and took the kid, running into another room, leaving Sonic and Paul alone with the young woman. Seeing that she was still staring at him with the bemused expression on her face, the hedgehog decided to introduce himself.

            "Yo," Sonic said. "The name's Sonic. I found that kid when the weird guy was in the middle of beating him up, so I took him out. Paul led me here." He motioned to the Pidgey as the Pokemon landed on his head.

            "I'm Kate," the woman said. "Pokemon Ranger. Professor Oak asked me to come from the Almia Region because of some sort of problem."

            "What kind of problem? If it's Eggman again, he's mine to take care of."

            Kate frowned. "Eggman? I haven't heard of an Eggman."

            Now it was Sonic's turn to stare. "Haven't heard of _Eggman?_ How can you guys not have heard of that crazy maniac?"

            Paul's claws dug into Sonic's quills. "Could you stop shouting, Sonic? It's kinda hurting my ears."

            Sonic flinched at Paul's claws. "Sorry, buddy. It's just that I feel like everyone's forgotten something really important. I mean, one day I'm running across the world like normal, and everybody knows who I am. Next thing I know, I'm in some sort of weird place where animals are called 'Pokemon' and Mobians are nonexistent." He looked at Kate with a cautious expression. "It's almost like I'm the last of my kind in existence."

            Kate frowned. "I wonder what could have happened. You sound like a creature pulled out of time, or from another world."

            Paul cocked his head. "You mean, like Dialga or Palkia had brought him here?"

            "Who now?" Sonic asked in confusion.

            "Dialga and Palkia are Pokemon that are said to be able to control time and space," Kate explained. "I've heard rumors that Dialga took a few kids into the past with him to some sort of problem, and Palkia has managed to take some people into other dimensional areas. I don't think that either of them did anything involving your home, though."

            Sonic frowned. "I wonder if those guys'll be able to tell me what's going on."

            "I've contacted John's mother," the old man said as he came back into the room. "He has a few bruised ribs and a black eye, but he should be all right with some rest."

            Paul let out a sign of relief. "That's good to hear. At least he didn't end up like my second cousin."

            Sonic raised an eyebrow. "What happened to him?"

            "You don't want to know. Trust me."

            The old man stared at Sonic for a moment, only for his eyes to widen. "This is impossible...."

            Sonic frowned at him. "What, never seen a hedgehog before? The name's Sonic. And you are?"

            The man quickly regained his composure. "I'm Professor Oak, creator of the PokeDex. Pardon me for staring, but I've never seen anything like you before."

            "Yeah, I've been getting that a lot. I'm a Mobian, by the way. Not a Pokemon."

            Oak nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. But, I must ask you..." he pointed at Paul. "Are you capable of understanding that Pidgey?"

            Sonic nodded. "Yeah. Paul led me here after I rescued the kid."

            "Have you lived with him for all your life?"

            Sonic smirked. "Nah. We only just met about a minute ago." He tapped his head. "I've got this device wired directly to my brain that lets me understand the speech of people all over the galaxy - and that includes Pokemon, I guess."

            "Amazing." Oak looked at Kate. "Do you think he could be one of the PokeMorphs of legend?"

            Sonic frowned. "Buddy, I already told you - I'm not a Pokemon, I'm a Mobian."

            "PokeMorphs were creatures that predate Pokemon," Kate explained. "They were said to look like animals, but also act like humans. Professor Oak is just making a possible connection between your kind and the PokeMorphs." She smirked. "And Professor Hastings and Professor Rowan agree with him on this."

            Oak looked at the Ranger in surprise. "How do you know?"

            "Rowan contacted the Ranger Union about an hour ago. He had Ranger Scarlet with him, only she looked different. I wasn't there to see for myself - I was landing on your front lawn when I heard about it - but it sounded like some scientist had gotten a hold of her and changed her."

            Sonic frowned. "Eggman?"

            Kate shook her head. "Some guy named Charon. Apparently, he had found some fossilized hairs and wanted to use them on a test subject. Here; I've got a recording of what happened in my Styler; Hastings had emailed it to all Rangers we had their Stylers on." She moved her right wrist so that Sonic could see a little screen on one side of the device she had on. He found himself thinking that it almost looked like one of Tails' gadgets.

            The screen flickered, then showed some old man wearing a lab coat and a sweater vest standing next to...a Mobian. The figure had red fur, with peach in the usual spots, with eyes shaped like Sonic's, but with brown irises instead of green. She had yellow gloves that stopped at the first joint on each of her fingers, with white rings around her wrists. What the Mobian's species was, though, Sonic couldn't quite tell between the echidna dreadlocks, the hedgehog spines, and the _two_ fox tails that were twitching with a mind of their own.

            Sonic looked up at Kate. "Who is this?"

            Kate smirked. "That is Top Ranger Scarlet. The man next to her is Professor Rowan."

            Sonic shook his head. "What she is..." He snorted. "She's a cross between an echidna, a fox, and a hedgehog! And I _definitely_ haven't seen _that_ before. Did that Charon guy do that to her?"

            "Yeah, seems like it."

            "Does that mean there are more like her running around?"

            Kate shrugged. "We don't know, to be honest. We haven't had the chance to contact her since Rowan found her. At least, not that I know of. Hastings could have phoned her since he emailed the conversation."

            Sonic frowned. "And _you're_ saying she _used_ to be human?"

            Kate nodded.

            His frown deepened. "Great."

            "Where did you think this Charon guy found what he used in order to do that?" Paul asked. "The fossil thingies?"

            Oak got a confused look on his face, frowning. "What?"

            Sonic rolled his eyes and translated for the Pidgey. "He wants to know where Charon found those fossilized hairs or whatever it was that he used." He frowned. "You know, I'm kind of wondering that, too, because it looks like she might have been turned into a mix of a couple friends of mine, plus who knows what else."

            A look of understanding crossed Oak's face. "Well, the only places that I've heard of that are capable of doing that are either the Oreburgh Mine or Mt. Coronet. It's likely that Charon went to one of those places in order to find what it was that he was looking for."

            Sonic nodded slightly as Kate turned off her Styler's screen. "Where is she now?"

            "In the Sinnoh region," Kate replied. "That's pretty far from here, though -- you'd have to take a boat, or fly by Staraptor in order to get there for most normal Trainers, and even that could take a few days. Why do you ask?"

            The boat option caused Sonic to shudder. "Scarlet's going to need some help adjusting, and I could probably help with that. But I'm not going over there by boat. Definitely not."

            "Why not?" Oak inquired.

            "Water and I...we don't mix. How fast can these Staraptor go?"

            "If we left now..." Kate paused to think for a moment. "...four days."

            Sonic groaned. "I could get there in two if I ran, then! Is there anything that can go faster?"

            Kate gained a surprised expression at Sonic's statement, then gained a wide grin. "Actually, there is. Come outside, and I'll show you."

            The Ranger led the group outside and a short distance away from Oak's lab, while Paul and Sonic exchanged confused looks. It didn't take too long before Kate did something that left Sonic a little surprised.

            Kate jumped into the air and pointed her Styler at the ground, shouting, "Ranger Sign! Latios and Latias!"

            A top came flying off Kate's Styler and landed on the ground, carving an oddly-glowing symbol into the dirt. As soon as the Ranger was back on the ground again, two Pokemon had suddenly flown in with a blast of wind, ruffling Sonic's quills.

            "Sonic, meet Latios and Latias, the Eon Pokemon," Kate introduced. "They're the fastest Pokemon in the skies."

            "At least, the fastest of our size," the red-and-white colored Pokemon pointed out. She looked at Sonic and waved. "Hi! I'm Latias. Latios is my big brother."

            "Greetings." Latios moved forward, looking Sonic over curiously. "I haven't seen a creature like you before."

            "I'm a hedgehog," Sonic replied. "How fast are you guys, anyway?"

            "Fast!" Latias replied happily. "Why do you ask?"

            "I've got to get to the Sinnoh region ASAP." Sonic jumped up on to Latios, Paul still clinging to his head. "And if you guys are going to break the sound barrier in order to get me there, I can definitely deal with it!"

            Paul dug his claws deeper into Sonic's quills. "I haven't broken the sound barrier, but I'm ready to go at that speed if I have to."

            "Are you sure you want to stick with Sonic, Paul?" Kate asked as she got onto Latias.

            "Yeah. Mom and Dad have been going after me to join up with a Trainer, so why not? Besides - I like Sonic."

            "All right then," Kate sighed. "But I wouldn't sit on his head if I were you - Latios' speed could knock you right off."

            Sonic stayed still as Paul hopped off his head and sat down in front of the hedgehog, looking nervous. The hedgehog gave the Pokemon what he thought was an encouraging smile, then looked at Latios' head, his smile turning into a grin. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say there were going to be Mobians in this.
> 
> Pokemon and Sonic were things I was big into when I actually wrote this, back in the summer of 2012 or so. So much so that I decided I wanted to stick the two of them together somehow.


	5. Playing Catch-up

            Scarlet looked around, surveying the towers of Jubilife City. It had only taken her a minute of running to get to the city, and it didn't help that Bidoof and Starly had tried to attack her along the way. If there were any Trainers on that path, they would most likely be reaping the rewards of capturing the fainted Pokemon she had left behind.

            "Now to figure out a way through without catching any attention from any Trainers," Scarlet muttered as she stepped into the city. She snorted. "Like that's going to be easy."

            It actually turned out to be easier for her than she had expected it to be -- mostly because she was cautious and had experience with sneaking around people and traps, thanks to going after Team Dim Sun. Her new form seemed to be doing something for her, too, since she could now zip across open streets in the blink of an eye -- something that she definitely _wasn't_ planning on leaning on all that much. It might have been fun, but she wasn't planning on staying stuck in this form for very long.

            Especially since she was probably going to be mistaken for some rare species of Pokemon by anyone she was probably going to run into.

            Scarlet was almost out of the city when a little boy wearing an orange cap, shirt, and black shorts jumped in her path.

            "Hey, Pokemon!" the boy shouted. "I'm gonna catch you!"

            Scarlet rolled her eyes. "I'm not a Pokemon, kid. I'm a Poke _Morph._ Or Mobian. There's a difference."

            The boy's eyes widened. "You can talk! Cool! And I don't know what it is that you said you were, but it sounds catchable!" He threw a PokeBall, releasing a Bidoof.

            The Pokemon took one look at Scarlet, let out a yelp, and tried to retreat behind the boy, but the kid wouldn't let it.

            "Come on, Bidoof!" the boy exclaimed. "We're gonna catch that Pokemon!"

            Bidoof shook its head vigorously. "Bi...."

            Scarlet rolled her eyes again. "I don't have time for this." She shifted her stance a little, then ran past the boy and the Bidoof, leaving the kid yelling after her in alarm and anger that she didn't let him catch her.

            Scarlet had a slightly harder time maneuvering herself around the Trainers and Pokemon that were on the next route beyond the city, but by the time she'd managed to enter the cave that was on the route, the Pokemon and Trainers there had quickly learned their lesson: stay away from the weird-looking red Pokemon.

            Scarlet stopped when she got inside the cave and let out a groan. "Great. Looks like I need for find a Pokemon that can use Rock Smash in order to get through here." She frowned at the boulders that were blocking her path. "White must have a Pokemon on her that can do that, because Floraroma's on the other side."

            Out of frustration, she punched one of the boulders, gritting her teeth.

            _CRASH!_

            Scarlet jumped back in surprise when the boulder crumbled under her fist. Blinking in surprise, she looked at her fist and saw that the spikes had come out again.

            "Huh." Scarlet looked at the pieces of rock that were lying where the boulder had been a moment ago, and gained a smirk. "Well, I guess this power has _some_ good uses."

            She promptly demolished the other boulders, then kept going, exiting the cave and moving along the little stretch of the route that was between her and Floraroma.

            As soon as she walked into the town, the scent of flowers hit Scarlet's nose -- hard. She flinched a bit, shaking her head and rubbing at her nose. "Sheesh, I didn't think that my senses would get to be _this_ strong now." She lowered her hand from her nose. "Still, it does smell pretty nice. I can see why everyone back home says they think a Shaymin blessed the area."

            Scarlet continued to walk through town, looking around at the buildings and the people. She frowned a little when she noticed that no one was staring at her, much less trying to catch her. In fact, there were a few Pokemon walking around, smelling the flowers that lined the streets and relaxing.

            A little blond-haired, blue-eyed girl who stood about as high as Scarlet's chest suddenly ran up to her, carrying a flower wreath. "Hi! Welcome to Floraroma!" She jumped up and threw it over her head; it got caught on one of Scarlet's ears, so she pulled it down around her neck.

            "Thanks for the flowers," Scarlet told the girl.

            The girl giggled, then gasped. "You can talk!"

            Scarlet blinked at that, then remembered that she looked like a Pokemon that probably wasn't supposed to talk. She gave a smile. "Course I can talk. I've been able to ever since I could remember. The name's Scarlet. What's yours?"

            The child fiddled with the helm of her pink dress. "Rose," she said quietly.

            "It's nice to meet you, Rose," Scarlet replied. Her stomach growled suddenly. "Do you know where I can eat something?"

            Rose nodded. "Yeah; Mom just stocked the fridge. Come on!" She led Scarlet to a small, two-story house that was painted bright pink, almost making it invisible among the pink flowers surrounding it.

            Rose opened the door, calling out, "Mom! Could you make up a couple sandwiches? I've got a friend who would appreciate one."

            "Give me a few minutes!" came the reply.

            True to the woman's word, Rose's mother -- a woman with black hair and blue eyes -- came out, carrying a tray with two sandwiches, as well as two glasses full of pink lemonade.

            "Who might you be?" Rose's mom asked as Scarlet took a glass of pink lemonade.

            "My name's Scarlet," Scarlet replied. "Rose has already asked about me being able to talk, if that's what you're wondering."

            The woman closed her mouth as Scarlet picked up the sandwich, eating it quickly. Then she finished the lemonade and put the glass back on the tray.

            Scarlet gave a nod. "Thank you. I needed that."

            "What kind of Pokemon are you?" Rose's mom asked curiously.

            Scarlet hesitated to respond. "I'm not truly a Pokemon. I'm technically called a PokeMorph...or, Mobian, apparently."

            The woman frowned. "I've never heard of that before. Are they something that isn't a Pokemon, but isn't human?"

            "Something like that." Scarlet shrugged. "So far, only Professor Rowan, Professor Hastings, and a few Rangers know that I'm around -- not counting the people they've probably told by now, or you two, for that matter." _Or Team Galactic,_ she added silently to herself. "I'm on my way to Eternia, because I'm hoping to meet up with a Trainer who's heading there. You guys haven't heard of a girl named White, have you?"

            Rose's eyes widened. "She rescued Daddy from the mean people yesterday!"

            Scarlet's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

            Rose nodded. "Yup. She took out a mean lady with red hair and a white ballet hoopy-skirt, and then made her leave! Then I got Daddy back!" She jumped around, fists pumping in the air. "I wish I could have seen her Pokemon in action!"

            "Great!" Scarlet gained a wide grin, but that wavered a little when she realized that she'd forgotten something. "Oh, great. Could you describe what she looks like? I kinda rushed out of Sandgem before Rowan could tell me."

            Rose giggled. "Sure! Maria's got blue eyes and brown hair. She's about as tall as Mom, and was wearing jeans with a blue T-shirt and a yellow jacket. Oh! She had a red baseball cap, too, with some sort of cobalt saw blade shape on it. It looked a lot like the spines on the back of your head."

            Scarlet blinked at the last bit. "Really? Huh. I guess I'll know how to spot her in a crowd, then. Thanks for telling me." She started walking down the path that led through the small town

            "Wait just a moment!" Rose's mom called. Scarlet paused and looked back as the woman disappeared inside her home, reappearing a moment later with a brown paper back. "Take this with you. If you ever get hungry, there's some Berries inside it."

            Scarlet took the back, nodding. "Thanks. I probably will get hungry as I go along." She smiled at Rose. "You make sure that the mean lady doesn't come back, all right?"

            "You got it!" Rose replied, giving Scarlet a thumbs-up.

            Scarlet nodded and started walking down the path again, looking back and waving at the mother and daughter. "Thank you for the help! Take care, now!"

            "The same to you!" Rose's mother replied.

            It didn't take too long for Scarlet to leave the town. When she reached a bridge on the route, she paused and checked the Town Map to make sure she was going in the right direction.

            "Okay, so I've got to head north," Scarlet muttered to herself. "Which is...this way." She started across the bridge, looking around in case there were any Trainers who could get the jump on her. In the beginning, at least, she only saw what looked like a tree that had honey slathered over the bark, with a Cherubi and a Combee hovering near it.

            Scarlet shook her head at the strong, sweet scent, then kept going on the path for a moment longer before diving into the tall grass when a kid in a camper's outfit look in her direction.

            "Great," Scarlet muttered. "Looks like I'm going to have to play hide and seek again."

            Working her way along the route was a little tougher than Scarlet would have liked; the route was covered in more rock than grass, which meant she had to rely on her new-found speed in order to get past different Trainers.

            Scarlet scooted across another wooden bridge and up a tree, looking back at the Hiker she had left behind. "That grass really tickled my nose back there...it's a wonder he didn't find me." She looked to the forest ahead of her. "So, that's the Eternia Forest. Okay, now to find White." She moved into the forest at a light jog, hoping that she'd be able to find her way through the trees and to Eternia City -- and that White was still there.

            When Scarlet saw the first Trainer, she scrambled up into a nearby tree and moved out onto a branch, watching as a Trainer wearing a purple robe paced below her.

            "Man, that girl's Pokemon were strong," the Trainer muttered. "It was only half an hour ago, and my Pokemon are _still_ stinging from it!"

            Scarlet's ears twitched at that. _A girl's Pokemon? I hope he means White! That means she's still here somewhere!_

            She started moving from tree branch to tree branch, avoiding Pokemon and Trainer alike as she followed the sound of Trainers complaining about a girl and her Pokemon. A few Burmy jumped to different branches as she moved, but Scarlet knew that they weren't going to bother her as much as the other Pokemon in the forest probably would have.

            Eventually, up ahead, beyond a pair of unhappy-looking Psychics, Scarlet caught sight of a teenage girl traveling with a young woman with green hair and a green dress, a Prinplup walking between them and a Chansey waddling alongside them.

            Scarlet blinked at the sight of them, landing on a tree branch a short distance behind them. "Huh. Brown hair, yellow jacket, jeans...and a baseball cap." She grinned. "Looks like I've finally managed to find her."


	6. Chapter 6

Maria took in a breath of the forest air and sighed in contentment, causing the Budew on her shoulder to coo happily. "There's always been something about forests that I've really liked. I kinda wish this one was a little bigger, though."

            The woman walking next to her looked at Maria in surprise. "Bigger? But it already is big!"

            "Not to me, Cheryl." Maria laughed. "I've been in some pretty big forests myself. There was one that was filled with apple trees, and there was one in the middle that was so big, that the apples it produced were as big as my head!"

            Cheryl's Chansey let out a gasp in amazement. "Chann!"

            "If you're able to do that, then taking care of Team Galactic should be a breeze!" Cheryl said.

            Maria grinned in response, remembering the reason that Cheryl had asked for Maria to travel with her in the first place.

            The Prinplup walking between them let out a huffing noise and folded his flippers across his chest in a disgruntled fashion. Maria chuckled at his reaction, looking down at her belt. "I know you're unhappy that I haven't been able to let you fight very much around here, but you're week to the Pokemon that are living around here. I'm not about to let you fight until you get a little stronger."

            Prinplup snorted in response while the Budew on Maria's shoulder, Rose, looked smug at the Water-Type's response.

            Cheryl suddenly stopped, looking around rather nervously. Maria noticed.

            "What is it, Cheryl?" Maria asked, semiconsciously adjusting her cap.

            "I thought I felt someone watching us," the woman murmured.

            Maria frowned. "It's probably just the forest Pokemon. They watch every Trainer that comes through here in case they want to join their teams."

            "Yes, I know, but...this feels different. I can't really describe it, though."

            Maria's frown deepened. "Well, if it's something like that, we'll probably run into the whatever it is soon. I just hope it isn't anything that I won't be able to handle."

            The two Trainers walked out of the grass and found themselves face to face with a pair of green-haired men in strange suits.

            "Team Galactic!" Maria exclaimed, catching their attention. "What is it you want to do with the energy you stole from the Windworks?!"

            The two grunts looked in her direction in surprise. "So you're the kid who did that yesterday, huh?" one asked. "Well, too bad - we're not here looking for you. We're looking for something else."

            There was a low growl somewhere in the trees that was hardly audible. Most of the humans didn't notice, and the Pokemon were in battle stance already.

            Maria turned her head slightly, looking up at the trees behind them.

            "We think it's somewhere around here," the first grunt continued, "and Charon wants it badly for his studies. If you help us, we'll leave you and your friend alone. Do we have a deal?"

            "No way," Maria replied, looking back at the Galactic grunts. "I had a bad feeling about you guys the moment I saw Mars and that old man at the Windworks. What are your leaders planning?"

            "Like we'll tell you," the second grunt said haughtily. "What we do is none of your business. Go home, kid. The world isn't for someone as young as you."

            "I've met Trainers who are younger," Maria retorted. "I'm not giving up on my journey now!"

            The first grunt smirked. "Fine, then. Have it your way. Go, Bronzor!" He released the Steel-Type floating disk from its PokeBall. "Take them out with Confusion!"

            "Prinplup, use Bubble!" Maria called.

            The penguin Pokemon sprang to action instantly, releasing a multitude of bubbles from his beak. But before the move had reached its intended target, the Bronzor was down. As were the grunts. The cause was in the form of a small, furry not any taller than three feet, with red fur, an orange jacket, yellow fingerless gloves with white rings at the wrist, and yellow shoes with red lightning symbols. The fur on the back and side of her head and fused into what looked like spines and dreadlocks respectively, and she had two Vulpix tails, but with white tips, rather than all the way red.

            The creature turned to face Maria, revealing that she had peach-colored areas that included her arms, snout, and chest/stomach. The figure also had brown eyes.

            Maria and Cheryl stepped back, in surprise.

            "What are you?" Cheryl asked, panicked.

            The figure ignored her, and instead looked at Maria, whose eyes were wide with surprise.

            "No way..." she murmured. "A PokeMorph? Here?"

            The figure seemed surprised. "How did you know what I am?"

            "My mom and I studied the Ruins of Alph a while back, when I used to live in Jhoto," Maria explained. "Other than discovering 28 forms of Unknown, the stories that the runes told were the only thing that made me keep coming back. To actually see one of the ancient heroes face to face...this is incredible!"

            The PokeMorph looked uncomfortable. "I'm not exactly one of those ancient heroes, White." She paused. "Or was it Maria?"

            Maria stiffened. "How did you know my name?"

            "Professor Rowan told me. Look, I used to be human, but these goons decided to mess with my DNA." The PokeMorph motioned to the Galactic grunts that now lay on the ground. "Charon specifically did this, and I really want to get back at him for it."

            "Who did you use to be?" Cheryl asked gently.

            The PokeMorph looked at her. "Scarlet Igel, Pokemon Ranger."

            Maria's eyebrows shot up as she stared at Scarlet in shock. " _The_ Scarlet? You can't be serious!"

            "I'm completely serious," Scarlet replied. "Team Dim Sun's return I could handle, but not this. This is just...inhuman." She motioned to her body.

            Maria swallowed her surprise, turning it into concern and a little disgust. "Why, though? Why would they do this?"

            Scarlet shrugged. "I think the usual 'take over the world' plan is probably part of the reason, but it's kind of hard to tell right now. Rowan said you'd give me a hand hunting down Charon and finding a way to turn back. Will you?"

            Maria cocked her head to one side, the action being mimicked by Prinplup and a little by rose. She saw Cheryl and her Chansey standing off to one side with a nervous expression on their faces, but she decided to ignore them for the moment.

            "And you said that Charon did this? The hunchbacked man with the glasses and that freaky grin?" Maria asked.

            Scarlet nodded. "That's him. How'd you--"

            "I saw him back at the Valley Windworks when I kicked the Galactic goons out. They wanted the energy from there for something." Maria looked up at the branches crisscrossing over their heads. "So I know who you're talking about. To be honest, Cheryl was only traveling with me as far as this point because she wanted to get through Eternia Forest safely, and...well, I think I'd like to travel around the region with someone else with me." She looked back at Scarlet and grinned. "And it would be pretty cool to be able to hang out with a PokeMorph, even if you were transformed into one."

            "So, you're saying...?"

            "I'll go with you."

            Scarlet grinned in triumph.

            "You two...."

            Maria looked over at Cheryl, blinking in curiosity at the woman. "Yes?"

            Cheryl looked surprised, then gave a small smile. "I can't help but get the sense that you two will be able to work well together."

            "Chann!" Chansey agreed.

            "Good luck," Cheryl added, turning to look at the PokeMorph.

            Scarlet gave a nod. "Thanks."

            With that, Cheryl and Chansey turned and walked out of the forest, leaving Maria and Scarlet.

            "So, what happened to you?" Maria asked, turning her attention to Scarlet. "How did Charon turn you into this?"

            Scarlet shrugged. "All I know is that I was knocked out by an ex-Team Dim Sun's Tauros when my guard was down, and I woke up three months later looking like this. Charon kept going on about how I was the only one and that I should stick with him because he gave me my new form." She snorted. "Like I'd stick around."

            Maria nodded in agreement at that, then blinked when she saw Scarlet give her an odd look. "What?"

            Scarlet sighed and shook her head. "It's just...I didn't think I'd get to meet the same kid who took out three teams in her career as a Trainer. How'd you get started?"

            Maria blinked for a moment at the question, then giggled. "Well, Mom, Dad, and I used to live in Pallet Town, but we had to move because of some sort of job problem. After I had managed to beat the Kanto Elite Four and Champion when I was twelve, we moved to Hoenn, and I increased my Pokemon inventory, beating the Elite Four and Champion when I was thirteen. After paying Jhoto a visit, taking out the Jhoto League and traveling around in Kanto again while I was at it, my family and I moved to Twinleaf Town the day I turned fifteen. After that, I started to look into the ruins in the area online, and then started my journey a couple of months later. I've been on the road for three days, counting the day that I got my Pokemon from Professor Rowan."

            Scarlet's eyebrows shot up. "Wow. You've certainly been on the road a lot. But why didn't you just take one of your Pokemon from the other regions with you?"

            Maria smirked. "Mom took 'starting over' to a whole new meaning and made me leave all my Pokemon at home. At least I can still call on them if I have the need for it, but I highly doubt that. Besides - this way, I can feel like a beginner again, and that's not all bad."

            Scarlet snorted in response to that, looking like she didn't entirely believe in the idea. Then she inclined her head, raising an eyebrow. "So, what do you know about PokeMorphs, if you know anything? Rowan asked me to record everything I found out in a PokeDex he gave me, and I know next to nothing."

            Maria's eyes widened slightly, and she gave a nod. "Okay; gotcha. How about we walk and talk? I kind of want to get to Eternia and see if I can challenge the Gym Leader before nightfall."

            Scarlet shrugged. "Sure. I don't want to spend the night in a forest, either."

            Maria moved ahead of Scarlet and Prinplup, walking out of the forest ahead of them. As soon as she cleared the trees, she stopped short in surprise and looked up at the sky in amazement.

            "What is it?" Scarlet came up behind Maria and looked up. Her eyes widened a moment later. "What? But it was the middle of the day when I went in, and I couldn't have spent _that_ long looking for you."

            Maria chuckled at Scarlet's amazement. "I guess, in that forest, time _does_ seem to stand still. I didn't think that I'd ever get to see that happen again." She noticed the odd look she was getting from Scarlet, and she shook her head. "It's nothing. Just thinking about something." Maria motioned for Scarlet to follow her, then started for a wooden bridge that went across a small pond. Before she stepped onto it, though, she paused and looked back when she noticed that Scarlet wasn't following her.

            "I don't think I should be seen by people just yet," Scarlet said. Motioning to the grass that went around one side of the pond, she added, "I'll go this way and meet you on the other side."

            Maria considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Okay; sounds good to me." She promptly turned and practically pounced on one of the fishermen who was sitting on the bridge, Rose leaping off her shoulder with an eager cry that caused the fisherman to let out a startled yelp.

            It didn't take the two of them too long to get around and across the pond, and Maria and Scarlet were soon walking into Eternia City.

            "Hey, there's the Pokemon Center!" Maria gained a wide grin when she saw the red-roofed building. "And it's so close to this side of the city, too! They must know Trainer are going to want to heal up as soon as they get out of the forest!"

            Scarlet started to nod in agreement, but then she stiffened suddenly, her ears flattening against her head as she let out a low growl, causing Maria to look at the PokeMorph in confusion.

            "What's up?" Maria asked.

            Scarlet didn't answer in words and instead summoned two pairs of spikes from the knuckles on her clenched fists, causing the Trainer to follow the Ranger's gaze.

            Maria's eyebrows went up a moment later. "Oh, I see."

            A Galactic goon was leaning against one of the walls of the Pokemon Center, looking like he owned the place. Clearly, Scarlet didn't like the look of him.

            Maria dropped a hand on Scarlet's right shoulder. "Are you sure that you want to attract attention to yourself right now by attacking somebody? People might think that you're just a wild Pokemon who's attacking humans without caring that they're part of Team Galactic or not."

            Scarlet stopped growling.

            "I'll take care of it," Maria added, removing her hand from Scarlet's shoulder. "I've dealt with creeps like this before." She walked over to where the grunt was leaning against the wall of the Center, motioning for Prinplup to follow her and returning Rose to her PokeBall as she did so.

            "So, what are you doing out here?" Maria asked the grunt, getting his attention.

            The grunt looked at her, then grinned. "Anybody who's come up and challenged us has had their Pokemon taken away from them. We have a right to!"

            Prinplup let out a low growl, folding his wings across his chest and glaring at the grunt in as menacing a manner as possible for the Pokemon. Maria gained a dark expression on her face, as well.

            "Oh, really?" Maria raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to see you try."

            The grunt stared at her as Scarlet came up behind Maria and Prinplup, adding her own glare to the mix. "U-uh...you can keep yours for now!" He turned and scrambled down the street, towards a building in the distance that had spikes jutting out from the sides.

            "Hmph." Maria watched the grunt go, then shook her head. "Lousy cowards, all of them. Team Rocket would have still challenged me in public -- they had a lot more stupid gall than that moron." She looked back at Scarlet. "Come on; let's get into the Pokemon Center and get a room to spend the night in. The Gym probably isn't open right now, anyway; I doubt I'm going to get a challenge in tonight."

            Scarlet shrugged. "It's your call."

            Maria blinked at the comment, then smiled slightly and nodded before walking over into the Pokemon Center.

            "Good evening!" Maria greeted cheerily as they walked inside.

            The Nurse Joy working the counter looked over in surprise. "Good evening! I didn't think that I'd see a Trainer pass this way in a happy mood for some time!"

            Maria frowned slightly as she, Prinplup, and Scarlet reached the counter. "Really? What wouldn't make them happy?"

            "Well, there's been a rather strange group that's been in the area recently, and it seems that they've been taking Trainers' Pokemon." Nurse Joy nodded over to a sitting area in the lobby of the Center. "That boy just recently lost his Buneary to them."

            "Well, that's mean of them," Maria remarked, scowling. "But it has been done before, unfortunately. Team Rocket worked in stuff like that, too."

            "Indeed, from what I have heard." Nurse Joy nodded. "Do your Pokemon need to be healed?"

            "Yeah; we just came through Eternia Forest, so I want to make sure everyone's all right." Maria handed Nurse Joy five PokeBalls, then a sixth after she had returned Prinplup. "There's my team."

            Nurse Joy nodded, then frowned in confusion. "And that Pokemon?"

            "I'm not a Pokemon," Scarlet corrected, frowning.

            Seeing the shocked expression on Nurse Joy's face, Maria explained, "This is Top Ranger Scarlet. Team Galactic did something to her that turned her into this, and I'm going to help her try and find a way to change back."

            Nurse Joy gained a surprised expression at this. "Scarlet? Truly?"

            Scarlet nodded moodily. "Yeah."

            "Oh, dear...I didn't think that anyone would be capable of turning into...well...." Nurse Joy looked a little nervous.

            "Neither did I," Scarlet replied.

            "We're looking for a room to spend the night," Maria spoke up. "One with a bunk bed, preferably."

            Nurse Joy quickly regained her composure and nodded. "Of course. I'll have your Pokemon healed in a moment, and then I'll show you to your room."

            "Thanks!" Maria gave the woman a bright smile.

            True to Nurse Joy's word, she had Maria's Pokemon healed and returned to her, then led them up to a room on the second floor of the Center before returning to her position at the counter.

            "Well, that went well," Maria remarked as the door closed behind the nurse.

            Scarlet grunted. "Yeah, I guess. What am I going to do now, though? If we keep running into stuff like that, I might as well _pretend_ I'm a Pokemon. I've certainly got the moves for it." She raised her right fist and clenched it, watching as a pair of spikes rose up from her knuckles, stretching the fabric of the gloves and not breaking them.

            Maria nodded in agreement, frowning. "While that may be true, it's better to tell the truth rather than keep lying. You'll probably end up with PokeBalls thrown at you wherever you go if you do say you're a Pokemon."

            Scarlet frowned at that, then sighed and nodded in agreement as her spiked knuckles retracted. "Yeah, you do have a point."

            Maria sat down on the lower bunk of the bunk bed, releasing Prinplup and Rose. "So, you said that you wanted to see if I knew something about PokeMorphs, right? Because I could tell what you were at a glance back in the forest?"

            Scarlet nodded. "Yeah. How'd _you_ find out about them?"

            "Well, my mom and I are both ruin maniacs in a way, and we like seeing what the ancient past might have been like." Maria grinned, lost in memories. "And the Ruins of Alph in Jhoto had a _lot_ of carvings and stories from the PokeMorph era, so I was able to pick up a few things."

            Scarlet's eyebrows rose. "Really? I didn't think that you'd have learned it from someplace like _that_."

            "The most surprising things can come from the least expected places," Maria replied honestly. "You said Professor Rowan told you about me. I guess that means you know that I'm actually an experienced Trainer already."

            Scarlet nodded. "Yeah." She paused. "That's right; Rowan gave me a Dex to keep him up to date on what I find out about what I am now." She reached inside her jacket and pulled out a PokeDex.

            "Really?" Maria gained an interested expression. "Do you mind if I have a look at it?"

            Scarlet shrugged, then handed the PokeDex over.

            Maria opened it up and frowned at the only entry that had any writing on it, ignoring the Bronzor, Bidoof, and other empty entires that Scarlet had clearly run into in Sinnoh so far. "Let's see... _'PokeMorphs, or Mobians, look like Pokemon and act like humans. They are not true Pokemon, even though they look as such. Have the strength of a Machoke and are capable of defending themselves'."_ She looked at Scarlet. "What else can you do besides those spike things?"

            Scarlet moved from across the room to the bed Maria was sitting on in less than a blink of an eye, creating a red blur and a blast of wind in the room that caused the curtains and bed sheets to ruffle like they had a mind of their own.

            Prinplup let out a squawk of surprise. Maria got a wide-eyed expression of surprise before a wide, eager grin appeared on her face.

            "Super speed of one hero, the strength of another..." She eyed the twin tails that were moving of their own accord behind Scarlet. "And possibly flight of the third hero!"

            Scarlet frowned. "Flight?" she repeated. "I can't fly."

            "Yes, you can." Maria pointed at the twin tails. "One of the PokeMorphs looked like a yellow humanoid Vulpix, but he only had two tails instead of six. The hero used them to fly." She spun a finger around as though to demonstrate. "He used them like helicopter blades."

            Scarlet looked behind her at her tails. "Huh. I'll have to figure out how to use them later." She looked back at Maria, frowning curiously. "What could these other heroes do?"

            "Well, there were two other prominent ones who looked like different versions of Sandslash. One was red, with dreadlocks like yours, only all around his head. He had spikes on his knuckles, too, and could climb up walls with them by sticking them into the wall like pegs. The red PokeMorph was a great fist fighter, too. The other Sandslash creature was a cobalt blue, and he was so well renown, he got his own symbol, which looked a lot like this." Maria pointed to the saw-blade shape on the front of her hat. "He had spines that were fused together to form large spikes on the back of his head, and he could run at fast speeds, like you did just now. Those three have saved the world millions of times over."

            Scarlet gained an interested expression. "So, you're saying that my new body is basically made up of three DNA strands from the most famous PokeMorphs in the history of our planet."

            Maria nodded. "Yup." She tapped the PokeMorph entry and started typing on the Dex's bottom screen, saying the words aloud as she went. "In ancient times, certain PokeMorphs were the heroes of the planet, capable of doing things others could not. For instance, the main hero could run at the speed of sound -- maybe even faster."

            Scarlet leaned over, watching Maria write. "Do you know anything else about them? A few names would be nice."

            Maria shook her head. "Sorry, but I only know the their names had been mentioned, they had been scrubbed out or had faded by the time I had read them. Only their powers were mentioned, and I've come up with a few nicknames from that: the Blue Blur, for instance, was the fast Mobian."

            "You said that there were other heroes other than the three that I seemed to have gained my powers from," Scarlet pointed out. She started to climb into the bed above Maria's.

            Maria nodded. "Yeah; the most prominent among them were the blue hedgehog's group."

            "Hedgehog?" Scarlet repeated, peering down from the upper bunk.

            "Yeah; the mutated Sandslash with the fused spikes on his head? They called him a hedgehog."

            "Oh. So, what else was in this group?"

            "The yellow Vulpix with two tails was one; his kind are called foxes. And the red Sandslash with the dreadlocks was referred to as an echidna. The others in their group weren't mentioned as often, but I recall that there were others of their kind. For instance, there was a pink hedgehog among them, as well as a purple echidna."

            "Judging from the color choices, I think they're girls," Scarlet remarked.

            Prinplup, bored with the conversation, let out a loud yawn.

            Maria giggled at the Pokemon's action, then nodded. "Yeah, we should go to bed. Shall we continue our conversation tomorrow?"

            Scarlet nodded in agreement. "No use for you beating a Gym Leader half asleep. Good night." Her head disappeared from view.

            Maria smiled slightly, then stood up and walked over to the light switch, turning off the light and crawling into her own bed, falling asleep a moment later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I couldn't think up chapter titles for these, so I left them blank. So, technically, this is chapter 5, since the first one was a prologue.


	7. Chapter 7

            A red, furry figure ran through the forest, occasionally jumping up and leaping from one tree to another in order to avoid the larger figures -- humans -- who were running after him.

            "Come on! We have to catch that thing for the boss!" one called.

            "Don't you think we know that?" another snapped.

            "Oi!" a third barked. "Less talking, more running!"

            The red figure whirled suddenly and punched a tree with his spiked boxing gloves, causing it to fall on the path behind him, slowing down his pursuers. Then he climbed up an oak tree and vanished.

            "Rattatas!" the first figure exclaimed. "Lost it!"

            "Now we're back to square one," the second added.

            "Spread out," the third ordered. "We'll cover more ground that way."

            The three figures ran off in opposite directions, the moonlight shining off the figures' green hair as they ran.

            Once they were gone, the red figure climbed back down the oak tree and continued running in the original direction he had taken, his red and yellow striped shoes hitting the dirt.

            "Sheesh, those guys are persistent," the figure muttered to himself. "I'd better find a way out of here before--"

            He cut himself off when he burst out of the trees, only to find himself standing near the edge of a cliff. The figure promptly let out a groan.

            _Snap._

            The figure turned sharply at the sound of the twig snapping, dreadlocks swaying.

            "Finally!" the green-haired figure exclaimed. "You've been avoiding us too long, PokeMorph. You're coming with me!" He threw a PokeBall at the figure, which opened up to release a strange, brown creature that had a worm-like tail and was holding a spoon in one of its three fingered hands. "Use Psychic, Kadabra!"

            The red figure let out a growl and jumped up into the air, gliding over to the humanoid Pokemon and its Trainer before the attack could be unleashed. Then he slammed down on them both, knocking them out in one blow.

            "And for the last time, I'm not a PokeMorph!" the figure growled. "I'm a Mobian."

            "Technically, you're both," said a voice.

            The figure looked up in surprise to see a brown and white bird with a red crest of feathers on its head flying above him. Sitting on the bird was a young man with brown hair and blue-green eyes, dressed in some sort of red, black and white outfit. On one of his arms was an electronic device.

            "Hey," the human greeted. "I'm Kellyn, Pokemon Ranger. Who might you be?"

            The figure frowned, observing the two before him with his purple eyes. "Name's Knuckles. I'm a Mobian Echidna. What's that your riding?"

            "This is a Staraptor, Knuckles," Kellyn explained. He made the bird fly closer, holding out his left arm as he did so. "Hop on."

            "Why should I?"

            "It's either me or the goons who're chasing you. I can get you food and shelter if you need it."

            "I'm fine, thanks," Knuckles replied carelessly. He started to walk away from the Ranger.

            "You certain about that, Rad Red?"

            Knuckles stopped and was instantly up in the human's face, on Staraptor and holding onto the Ranger's collar. "Who told you that nickname?" he demanded.

            "Just a recently made friend," Kellyn replied nervously. "Why?"

            "Where is he?!"

            "Calm down, okay?! He's not very far from here. I can take you to him, if you want me to."

            Knuckles released his grip on the boy, calming himself down a little. "I'd appreciate that," he admitted, "so long as you aren't working with those guys like him." He pointed to the unconscious man and Kadabra below.

            Kellyn smirked. "Don't worry, Knuckles; we Rangers are around to stop people like them."

            The Staraptor started to fly south.

            "Your friend mentioned that you and he lived in a place called 'Mobius,' " Kellyn stated, as if to try a hand at conversation.

            Knuckles nodded. "That's right, and it's also why we're called 'Mobians'."

            "What was your world like?"

            The Mobian echidna observed the landscape below them. "Most of the planet is covered in forests, but we do have our seas and deserts, too. My home is on a floating continent referred to as Angel Island."

            "A floating _continent_?" Kellyn repeated. "How's _that_ possible?"

            "It's because of Chaos Energy," Knuckles replied. "It's a power that can destroy as well as heal, and a large amount of it keeps my island afloat in the skies in the form of the Master Emerald. I'm supposed to be it's guardian." Knuckles chuckled. "Some guardian I am, running around on adventures like this. I've got to get home."

            "Well, until we find a way home for you guys, you'll have to stick with me, Kate, and your friend Sonic," Kellyn remarked as Staraptor began to descend. "Here we are - Littleroot Town."

            "Little indeed," Knuckles remarked, looking around at the small number of houses and the larger building as they landed. "It's even smaller than Knothole!"

            "Actually, I'd say it's about the same size," said a familiar voice.

            Knuckles' head turned to see a familiar blue hedgehog standing nearby with his arms crossed.

            "Nice to see you again, True Blue," Knuckles greeted as he jumped off Staraptor.

            "Same to you, Rad Red," Sonic replied. He raised his hand and received a high five from the echidna. "Where were you hanging around?"

            "A forest a little to the north," Knuckles replied. "I don't really know what happened. First, I was guarding the Master Emerald, and the next thing I knew, something set it off and I was sent to the forest, chased by these three Overlanders with green hair."

            "Everybody's human around here, Knux," Sonic said. "And as for the green hair? Those goons were a part of some group called Galactic. Eggman isn't involved."

            Knux frowned. "And this PokeMorph business?"

            "You guys got sent into the far flung future, or the present, in our case," said a voice.

            The two Mobians turned to see a man with brown hair, beard, and eyes, wearing a lab coat and a pair of flip flops coming towards them. Beside him was a woman with brown pigtails, wearing a uniform identical to Kellyn's.

            "Knuckles, meet Pokemon Ranger Kate and Professor Birch," Kellyn introduced. "Guys, this is Knuckles, one of Sonic's friends."

            "You mean there are others who are stranded here?" Knuckles asked, surprised.

            Kate shook her head. "Not that we know of. If anything like you just described happened all over the planet, there may be others. But, until then, there's just you two and my friend Scarlet."

            "Scarlet?" Knuckles repeated. "Who's that?"

            "A Ranger who got turned into a Mobian by those Galactic people," Sonic explained. "Kate showed me a picture of what she looks like."

            "And?" Knuckles asked.

            "Hedgehog spines, echidna dreadlocks, and two fox tails."

            Knuckles blinked in surprise. "You have _got_ to be kidding."

            "He isn't," Kate replied, showing Knuckles the picture of Scarlet on her Styler. "That's her. She said that a scientist named Charon did this to her, but she didn't know what he did exactly."

            Knuckles frowned and let out a low growl. "Why of all the lousy-" He cut himself off and clenched his teeth. "I'm gonna find this guy and teach him a lesson."

            "First we gotta find Scarlet," Sonic pointed out. "I figured that she's gonna need some help adjusting to her new form, and we can help. Besides, she's probably already searching for this Charon guy anyway."

            Knuckles chuckled. "Man, how hard did you headbutt your last Badnik, Sonic? I think it did something to your head!"

            Sonic glared at him. "Hah, hah, very funny." He looked over at Kate. "Do you see what I have to deal with from this guy?"

            Kate let out a giggle. "You'll have to deal with him a little longer, Sonic. We still have to arrange for a ride to Sinnoh."

            "Sinnoh?" Knuckles repeated. "Where's that?"

            "It's an island to the east of here," Kellyn explained. "Scarlet is there, most likely trying to hunt down Team Galactic and get them to turn her back."

            "Pidge! Pidge!" called a panicked voice. A growl followed.

            Sonic turned his head. "Paul, who're you fighting off this time?"

            "Pidgey!"

            A small brown bird shot out of the woods and hid itself in Sonic's head quills, cowering. A black and blue dog about the same size ran out of the woods after it on its hind legs, looking around for wherever the bird had disappeared to.

            "That's a Riolu!" Kate identified. "They're not native to this area."

            The bird chirped in Sonic's ear. Sonic translated, "Paul says that he's named Vent."

            Vent growled again, glaring at the Rangers and the Mobians with what was probably the most menacing expression the Riolu could muster.

            Knuckles, who had been observing the creature with interest, walked over to the Fighting-Type Pokemon. Vent instantly noticed and jumped in Knuckles' direction, ready to punch the echidna. However, Knuckles was ready. He caught the Pokemon in his gloves, holding him tightly to keep him from squirming out of his grasp.

            Vent stopped struggling and glared at Knuckles, who glared back. They held the stare for about a minute. After that, Knuckles put the Pokemon back down.

            Vent looked up at the echidna, a little confused at first. Then he barked happily and leapt into the Mobian's arms, much to everyone's confusion.

            "Hey, cut it out!" Knuckles yelped as Vent started to hug the echidna around his neck.

            Kellyn laughed. "I think he's taken a liking to you," he remarked. "Much like Paul did to Sonic."

            Paul nuzzled into Sonic's neck, chirping happily.

            "Yeah, yeah, I get it," Sonic said, laughing. Looking at Kate, he asked, "Do you think it would be all right if Vent came along with us?"

            "If it's okay with Knuckles," the Ranger replied.

            "If it's okay with Vent's parents," Knuckles added.

            At the mentioning of the word "parents," Vent whimpered. Sonic's ears twitched at the sound.

            "What happened to them?" Sonic asked.

            Vent let out a long whine.

            "Taken by Team Galactic?" Kellyn asked. "What do you think they would be doing here?"

            "Most likely getting more Pokemon to use," Kate muttered. She turned to Birch. "We're going to need transportation to Sinnoh. The Staraptor, Latios, and Latias we used are either tired out from their long treks or off to take care of their own problems."

            "I'll work something out," Birch said. "In the meantime, I suggest that all of you rest until morning. Sinnoh is a long way off. My house is open to you."

            Kellyn nodded. "Thank you, Birch. We'll go and rest." He motioned for the rest of the group to follow him, and he led them towards one of the houses in the town.

            "So, how are you able to understand Pokemon?" Knuckles asked Kellyn. "A device in your ear like what Sonic has?"

            "No," Kellyn replied. "I've just lived with Pokemon for so long that I can understand them. The same goes for most people around here."

            Knuckles blinked. "Oh. So, what makes you a Pokemon Ranger, then?"

            "A Pokemon Ranger is someone who asks Pokemon for help in a disastrous situation. We ask Pokemon by conveying feelings of friendship through this." He showed Knuckles the device on his wrist. "It's called a Styler. It releases a top called a Capture Disk, which spins around the Pokemon we need at high speed until the feelings of the Ranger are conveyed to the Pokemon. It's generally referred to as a Capture. After we're done with whatever we needed the Pokemon for, they're free to either continue their lives in the wild or travel with us as Partner Pokemon, which never leave our side. Neither Kate nor I have one yet, though."

            Knuckles nodded, understanding. "Who made those Styler things?"

            "A man named Professor Hastings," Kate explained as they reached a house. "He's a pretty brilliant guy." She rapped on the door, which was quickly opened by a woman. Inside with her were a little girl with pink hair and a blue dress, as well as a teenage boy with a green-colored shirt and black jeans on, with had a large green creature with a pinecone for a tail next to him.

            "Hi; I'm Pokemon Ranger Kate, and these are my friends Sonic, Kellyn, and Knuckles, and the Pokemon are Paul and Vent," Kate introduced. "Professor Birch said we could spend the night here before we go to Sinnoh."

            The woman smiled. "But of course! Come inside, please." She motioned the group inside and closed the door behind them.

            The teen boy instantly ran over to Sonic and Knuckles. "I haven't seen creatures like you before," he said.

            "We're Mobians," Sonic replied carelessly. "I'm Sonic and this is Knuckles. Who're you, kid?"

            "Name's Brendan," the teen replied. "And this is my Sceptile, Pine." He motioned to the green creature, who nodded in greeting. "Where are you from?"

            "This world's past, apparently," the hedgehog replied. "Legend puts us under the name of 'PokeMorph', though. I kinda wonder why." Sonic promptly zipped up the stairs and vanished into a spare room. Knuckles followed him.

            "PokeMorphs?" Brendan repeated quietly. He dashed to his room and slammed the door shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone could have Mary Sue issues, it's probably Scarlet, considering what I did with her.


	8. Chapter 8

            _Poppoppoppoppop!_

            Maria sat up straight with a start when the Bubble attack hit her in the face.

            _WHAM!_

            "Ow!" Maria rubbed the top of her head, glaring up at the bunk above her before turning her annoyed expression to her Starter. "Did you have to do that?"

            Prinplup shrugged, a large grin on his beak. "Prin prin plup," he stated.

            Maria's eyes widened. "You're right! I do have a Gym Battle today!" She slipped out of the bunk bed, still in her clothes from the day before. "I gotta get ready!" She grabbed her backpack and dashed for the bathroom to take a shower.

            Scarlet woke up with a start as the bathroom door slammed shut. She sat up slowly, careful so as not to hit her head on the ceiling. She looked down at Prinplup. "That was Maria, wasn't it?"

            The Pokemon nodded. "Prin plup. Prin."

            It took Scarlet a moment to translate what it was that Prinplup had said. "Oh. She's getting ready for her Gym challenge, huh? I guess I'd better get up, then."

            Prinplup cocked his head. "Prin?"

            "I haven't seen a Gym challenge before, and I'm kind of curious as to how it's going to play out."

            Prinplup nodded, gaining an understanding expression.

            Fifteen minutes later, Maria came out of the bathroom with wet hair and in a white T-shirt and jeans with a red jacket, her backpack on her right shoulder. As she picked up her baseball cap from the night stand and put it on her head, she noticed that Scarlet was leaning against the wall near the door. "Are you coming along to watch my challenge?"

            Scarlet nodded. "I haven't set foot inside a Gym before, and I'm kind of curious as to how they operate."

            Maria smiled. "All right then. Come on; we don't have all day."

            "No, we don't," Scarlet agreed as they left the room. "Do you have any idea where the Gym is?"

            Maria nodded. "Yeah; it's to the south of here. A friend of mine named Barry called me yesterday to let me know where it was and that he'd already beaten it." She rolled her eyes. "I would have noticed that anyway. Come on; it's probably not too far from here."

            As they left the Pokemon Center, Scarlet looked around, observing the city before most of the populace had woken up. Then she spotted an eyesore: the Team Galactic goon from last night was sitting with his back on a wall of the Pokemon Center, snoring loudly.

            Maria shook her head, seemingly amused. "He must've been waiting to ambush someone," she remarked. "Come on; let's let him get some beauty rest and, if he's still there after my Gym challenge, we can get the jump on him." She started to walk to the south. Scarlet, after sending another glance in the grunt's direction, followed.

            It didn't take too long for the group to reach the Gym, even though Maria had taken a short detour as soon as she had spotted the PokeMart and bought a number of Super Potions before they entered the building.

            As soon as the group walked inside, Scarlet gained a disbelieving expression.

            "This is it?" She looked around the green room, eyeing the woman standing on the other side wearing a green outfit that looked like it could have been made from a number of leaves that had been sewn together.

            The woman looked at Scarlet in surprise at hearing her speak, then shook it off and gained a knowing smirk. "The real challenge is behind me." She motioned to the doorway behind her. "The name's Gardenia. I'm the Gym Leader here."

            "I'm Maria," Maria gave a short nod in greeting. "I'm hoping to challenge you to a battle."

            Gardenia grinned. "In order for that to happen, you have to battle the other Trainers in my Gym first. I'll be waiting for you in the back." She turned around and ran into the next room.

            Maria looked over at a statue sitting in a corner. "Gardenia uses Grass-Types, doesn't she?"

            Scarlet's eyes widened as the statue nodded in response.

            Maria turned and grinned at Scarlet. "Come on; this is going to be easy." She ran into the next room, Scarlet and Prinplup following after her.

            As soon as they arrived in the next room, they came to a stop when they found that the entire room looked like some kind of forest.

            Gardenia's voice then echoed through the trees: "In order to reach me, you have to find and battle every single one of the Trainers. Good luck."

            Scarlet frowned upwards at the painted sky. "Great; looks like we have to go on a scavenger hunt."

            "Not 'we'," Maria corrected. "Just me." She looked over at Prinplup. "You're going to have to sit out a lot of this one, too -- you're not going to do too well against Grass-Types."

            Prinplup gained a scowling expression in response, a deep frown forming on his face.

            "Sorry, buddy." Maria shrugged, grabbing a PokeBall off her belt. "I might ask you to jump in, but I'm going to be relying on the rest of the team." She looked at Scarlet, then turned and faced the forest ahead of them. "Let's go!"

            Maria was quick to lead Scarlet and her team through the maze, finding the three girls hiding in the forest's maze and defeating them with an instinct that Scarlet hadn't expected the Trainer to have. It was almost as though she was more comfortable in the forest than she had been in the city, and her Pokemon were definitely comfortable with taking their orders from her.

            "You've been on the road for only what, four days?" Scarlet asked as she watched Maria's Staravia -- nicknamed Star -- take out a Budew. "How is it that your Pokemon are so strong and are this willing to listen to you already?"

            "Being able to talk to them helps," Maria replied, grinning. "Sparks and Star were both looking for Trainers, and they're happy that I've been able to get them so strong already."

            Scarlet nodded, remembering the Luxio that Maria had let out earlier. "And Machop?"

            "I think I pretty much won him over when I had him and Prinplup take on my first Gym Challenge by themselves." Maria grinned widely.

            "You're definitely really strong!" the Flower Girl in front of them agreed as she recalled the Budew. "You just might be able to take on Gardenia if you keep going like this, but you have to find the two other Trainers first."

            "And do you have a hint as to where the next one is?" Maria asked, still grinning.

            "Yeah! She's hiding behind three trees!"

            Maria's eyebrows shot up. "Oh! I know where that is!" She motioned for Scarlet to follow her, then ran over to another part of the Gym's maze, Star flying a little bit above them to keep from running into the trees accidentally.

            "This would be a lot different if you were a real beginner, wouldn't it?" Scarlet asked as they found the next Trainer.

            Maria nodded as Star landed in front of her and let out a war cry while the Trainer -- another flower girl like the other one -- released a Turtwig. "Yeah, that's a definite. But I've been through so many Gyms that it's pretty easy to see through their puzzles. I've actually had a few Gym Leaders say they want to battle me without me going through their puzzles, but I kinda like them."

            The last two Trainers -- both the one with a Turtwig and the last Trainer, who had a Roselia -- were taken down rather quickly by Maria's Pokemon, who did take some damage but came out of the battles mostly unharmed.

            Maria was grinning widely by the time that she, her team, and Scarlet reached Gardenia. "Okay, I've beaten all your Trainers."

            Gardenia nodded. "And in record time, too. I think you were faster than that other boy who came through here yesterday."

            Maria chuckled. "Yeah, I kinda figured that. Barry's still inexperienced; the only reason he got through here yesterday is because I've been pushing him to stay ahead of me." She gripped Sparks' PokeBall. "So, are we going to get started?"

            Gardenia grabbed a PokeBall in a flourish. "Let's go, Cherubi!"

            Scarlet stayed a short distance back from the Gym Leader and the Trainer, watching as Maria worked with her team in order to take on Gardenia's. While Maria clearly didn't have any Fire-Types to work with, she was able to switch between Sparks, Star, Machop, and Prinplup in order to get them to take out Gardenia's three Pokemon with surprisingly relative swiftness and ease.

            "Incredible!" Gardenia exclaimed as she returned her Roserade and Maria called an exhausted Prinplup back. "I never thought that I would get to face a Champion like yourself in circumstances like this. What Erika said was true -- you really are a prodigy!"

            Maria laughed in response, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. "Well, I fought her as my fourth Badge, and I did have a Fire-Type by then. But I guess that I have always been quick on my feet about things like this."

            "You don't need to be so modest." Gardenia smiled. "You _are_ a Champion for a reason."

            Scarlet blinked at the two of them as Gardenia handed over a badge that looked like it was supposed to be a trio of trees. She didn't know that the Gym Leaders considered Maria to be a prodigy, much less that some of them kept in touch.

            "I saw you guys have a biking route to the south of here," Maria noted as she placed the Badge in a case with another one. "Is there a bike shop nearby?"

            Gardenia nodded. "It's near here, actually. Look for the bikes parked out front -- you can't miss it."

            "Thanks." Maria gave a nod, then turned and grinned at Scarlet before she practically ran out of the Gym. Scarlet stared in surprise for a moment before running after her. "Good luck on any other challengers you get! Make sure they learn some strategy!"

            "Of course!" Gardenia called after them.

            As the duo ran out of the building, Maria somehow managed to turn on a dime and go back the way they had come before turning again and running for a building that clearly had bikes sitting out in front of it.

            "What's with you?" Scarlet asked as they entered the building. "Did you have to just rush out like that?"

            "The Gym Leaders are used to it," Maria replied as she slowed to a stop, breathing deeply. "Besides, I wanted to see if the bike shop was open -- which it is." She motioned around to the floor they were on, which had bikes strewn all over the place...as well as a boy standing in front of the counter with a worried expression on his face.

            "Are you a Trainer?" the boy asked.

            Maria blinked at the question. "Yeah, I am. I was wondering if I could buy a bike."

            "Well, Dad would normally be the one to talk to, but he hasn't come back since he left last night." The boy looked nervous. "He wanted to ask the green-haired people why they were taking away people's Pokemon, and maybe stop them if he had too, but....

            Maria and Scarlet exchanged looks at that, both gaining serious frowns on their faces.

            "Did he go to that building with the spikes on the sides?" Maria asked.

            The boy looked up at her. "Y-you mean, you'll go and find him?"

            "And rescue him, if I have to." Maria clenched a fist. "I promise."

            The boy stared at Maria with wide eyes, then gained a relieved expression. "Thanks! Those green-haired guys have been coming in and out of that building for a while now, so that probably is where Dad is!"

            "Right!" Maria turned and looked at Scarlet. "Come on!"

            The two of them dashed out of the Cycle Shop, making a quick detour for Maria to heal up her team in the Pokemon Center. Scarlet was sure that Nurse Joy and the boy who had lost his Buneary the night before were staring after them with confused expressions when the duo rushed in and out of the building in seconds.

            When they reached the building with the spikes on the sides, however, they had to skid to a stop.

            Maria let out a groan when she saw what was growing up in the front gate in front of the building. "Great! It's these things again!" She moved as though to whack the giant thorn bush in front of her, but then decided against it. "Looks like I have to find someone who'd be willing to give me the Hidden Machine for Cut. Maybe there's a logger around here who might be willing to--"

            "You don't have to go and pester the locals for an HM01; I have one."

            Maria and Scarlet turned when they heard the unfamiliar voice, blinking in confusion when they saw a blond-haired woman wearing a black outfit walking over to them.

            "You do?" Maria's confusion gave way to hopefulness. "That's great!" She paused for a moment, then laughed. "Oh, sheesh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I'm Maria, and this is Scarlet."

            "Hi." Scarlet gave a nod in greeting.

            The woman nodded. "O.K. Maria, Scarlet, and Prinplup. I'll be sure to remember that. The name's Cynthia. I'm a Pokemon Trainer, and I've been studying Pokemon mythology, just out of curiosity." She looked at Scarlet. "I've heard from Professor Rowan, and I don't know what to tell you about the ancestry of the creature you've been transformed into. There's so little that is actually understood about the PokeMorphs."

            Scarlet shrugged in response. "It's all right; Maria seems to know some stuff about them."

            Cynthia looked at Maria with a curious look, causing the Trainer to rub the back of her head out of embarrassment. Then the woman smiled and looked over her shoulder at a giant statue of a Pokemon that was sitting a short distance away from them. "There's a legend of two mythical creatures that can control time and space. However, there have been legends that speak of a third creature that lives in a world that is the exact opposite of ours. Who knows? You could encounter one of them while you're traveling, and maybe one could change you back." She pulled out a disk from a pocket and held it out to Maria. "Here. Take this; it should help you."

            "The HM?" Maria took it carefully. "Are you sure you want me to have it?"

            Cynthia nodded. "It might help you reach the objectives you need to get to, and I know that your mother sells the HMs that you receive multiple copies of." She paused for a moment, then spoke again. "Good luck on your travels, the both of you. I sense that a change is going to take place in the Pokemon world, and it could be for either good or ill." With that, Cynthia turned and walked towards the Pokemon Center.

            Maria watched her go, still holding the HM. "I can't believe I just met the Cynthia." She looked at Scarlet. "She's Sinnoh's Champion!"

            Scarlet raised her eyebrows. "Really? Huh." She looked at the disk Maria was holding. "So, that's an HM, huh? I didn't think I'd get to see one in person."

            "Trainers will eventually get their hands on them, but they're a lot harder to come by than normal Technical Machines," Maria replied. She looked down at the disk for a moment, then grinned. "Okay, I'm going to go teach this to Rose. Be right back!"

            With that, the Trainer dove behind a nearby building, leaving Scarlet with a confused expression on her face.

            When Maria returned, the Budew out of her PokeBall and looking strangely confident, Scarlet demanded, "Why'd you have to disappear like that in order to teach your Pokemon?"

            Maria blinked at the question, then shrugged. "Dunno. It just feels like I should." She looked down at Rose. "Are you ready to try it out on that thing?" She motioned to the thorn bush that was blocking their path.

            The Budew didn't even hesitate, and started glowing with energy. "Dew!"

            Scarlet jumped back when the thorn bush was promptly chopped to pieces in one go. "I would have thought that would have needed to be at least a power level higher than what a Budew can normally do."

            "Well, things are different in places where PokeBalls can work, I guess," Maria replied as she recalled Rose. Then she released Prinplup and gained a wide grin. "Come on! We've got some Galactic goons to take care of!"

            What followed would be what Maria would later refer to as a 'raid,' much to Scarlet's agreement.

            Maria released the rest of her team as she stepped inside the building, Scarlet following on her heels. "All right, guys! Have at 'em!"

            The resulting cries of her team got the grunts' attention, and they quickly scrambled to call out their Pokemon.

            Scarlet shook her head when she saw Sparks and Star take out a Zubat and a Wurmple in one hit while Machop took out a Glameow. "These guys are weaker than the ones in Veilstone! They probably don't know anything about being able to turn me back."

            "Hey! It's that PokeMorph that Charon sent out the bounty for! Let's get it!"

            Scarlet promptly punched out the lights of the grunt who tried to lunge for her. "I'm definitely not going to stay out of this! Raaa!"

            The entire first floor was cleared out in moments, leaving behind knocked out Pokemon and Team Galactic members.

            Maria grinned. "All right! On to the next floor!"

            The next floor quickly went into as much chaos as the first one did -- maybe more, even, as the goons had certainly heard the ruckus that Maria had caused. Still, that did nothing to help them because of both Maria's team and Scarlet, who knocked out some goons before they could even give their Pokemon orders.

            "I never really understood why Pokemon would end up following Trainers like this," Scarlet muttered as she knocked down a scientist while Prinplup finished off a Kadabra. "Shouldn't they know to stay away from people like this?"

            "Pokemon can have evil in their hearts, too," Maria replied as she started to move towards the stairs leading up to the third floor. "I've seen Pokemon that have been anything from petty thieves to criminal masterminds. Although...." She trailed off, frowning.

            "Although what?"

            "The goons around here have been said that they want to get some kind of energy from Pokemon -- especially from when they evolve. I don't like the sound of that."

            As soon as the group reached the next floor, they were ambushed by two Galactic goons -- a grunt and a scientist. Maria's Pokemon quickly took them both out without any orders from their Trainer, allowing her and Scarlet to start up for the fourth floor, the four Pokemon following after her.

            As they reached the top of the stairs, however, Maria came to an abrupt stop. "Looks like we're about to reach the boss of this particular dungeon."

            "Dungeon?" Scarlet repeated, frowning.

            Maria looked at the Ranger, then ducked her head. "Oh; sorry. It's just I like to refer to places like this as dungeons."

            Scarlet considered that, then gave a nod. "All right; works for me. And how'd you know that the boss of this place is up ahead?"

            Maria pointed ahead. "Because she's right over there."

            Scarlet turned her gaze from Maria to the floor ahead of them, blinking when she saw a woman with strange-looking purple hair and a Galactic uniform standing in front of a man, a Clefairy, and a Buneary who had all been tied together.

            Scarlet nodded. "That's definitely the boss. Ready to take her out?"

            Maria nodded, a dark frown on her face. Then she walked forward onto the floor, barking, "Let that man and those Pokemon go!"

            The woman turned sharply at Maria's voice, and threw a PokeBall, releasing a Zubat. "That is not going to happen! The Pokemon are too important for our research, and we can't have people snooping around without getting punished!"

            Sparks let out a howl, releasing a blast of electricity that caught the Zubat and sent it falling to the ground with a dull _whump._

            "And _you're_ not going to get away with stealing other people's Pokemon!" Maria retorted.

            "Ha! Team Galactic has a right to take other people's Pokemon away from them if they aren't using them to their full potential! So says Jupiter, Commander of Team Galactic!" The woman -- Jupiter -- returned the Zubat and pulled out another PokeBall. "Let's see how you like this Pokemon!"

            "Sparks, pull back!" Maria ordered as Jupiter threw the PokeBall. "Prinplup, you're up!"

            "Prin!" Prinplup jumped forward as Jupiter's PokeBall exploded open, releasing the purple-and-white-furred Poison/Dark-Type.

            Scarlet clamped her hands over her nose, gagging at the smell from the Skuntank. "Gah! And I thought that the flowers were overwhelming!"

            Jupiter laughed. "Isn't it wonderful, PokeMorph, to be able to have your senses heightened?"

            "I don't think so!"

            "Guys, cover for Prinplup!" Maria barked.

            Her three other Pokemon instantly responded to the order, moving in to stand at Prinplup's sides before they all attacked the Skunk Pokemon at once. The Pokemon let out a snarling yowl in response and tried to retaliate, but Star hit Skuntank in the head with his wings hard enough that the Pokemon collapsed.

            "Hmph." Jupiter gained an expression of disgust as she returned the Pokemon. "Well, our work here was done, anyway. Mars has the energy we needed from the Windworks, and we have all the research that we need." With that, she threw down a glass ball, shattering it and releasing an explosion of smoke. By the time it had cleared, she was gone.

            Maria gained an annoyed expression. "Sheesh, these guys...what is it with them and Smoke Balls?" She shook her head. "Eh, I'll figure it out later. We've got to get those Pokemon and that man out of here, first."

            It didn't take them too long to untie the two Pokemon and the man, who introduced himself as Rick.

            "Thanks for the rescue," Rick said as they made their way down to the first floor. "I don't get what Team Galactic is doing at all. I mean, they demanded my Clefairy, saying that it came from space. I think _these_ guys came from space!"

            Scarlet snorted while Maria nodded in agreement.

            "Yeah, I know what you mean," Maria said. "Some of the grunts say that they're hoping to find a new type of energy, while others say they have no idea what they're ideas are. I think that these guys are less organized than Rocket, Magma, and Aqua put together. At least those guys know what they were going to do. Galactic is just a hodgepodge of jerks."

            "Amen to that," Scarlet added.

            Rick gave her an odd look, frowning. "You know, you look a lot like some of those Pokemon that were on a couple monitors back up there, before you guys got here." Rick motioned to the floors above them as they left the stairs and came out on the first floor. "Kinda a mix of them, really."

            Scarlet and Maria stopped, causing Rick and the Pokemon to stop, as well.

            "There are _more_ PokeMorphs?" Maria asked, wide-eyed.

            "Has Charon been kidnapping more people?" Scarlet muttered frowning.

            Rick shook his head. "No; Jupiter said that they were wild ones, and that they had been found in Kanto, Hoenn, and Unova."

            "Really?" Maria asked, interested.

            Scarlet frowned. "What is Team Galactic doing, traveling to other regions?"

            Rick shrugged. "I don't know, but all three managed to escape from the Galactic spies that had been sent to the regions. All of them looked like mutated Pokemon, too."

            "Which, Pokemon?" Maria asked.

            "There were two Sandslash, and...a Vulpix, I think."

            Maria stiffened. "And their fur colors?"

            "Blue, red, and yellow, I think."

            Maria looked at Scarlet excitedly. "It's the heroes of our past! They've been moved to the present!"

            "But how can you be so sure?" Scarlet folded her arms across her chest, frowning. "It could just be Shiny Pokemon that have mutated because of Pokerus."

            Maria considered my statement for a moment. "You may be right," she admitted, "but what would cause that to happen? It just seems to ridiculous to believe that they're just Pokemon."

            Rick observed Maria for a moment. "You seem to be into Sinnoh's myths as much as Galactic is."

            Maria looked aghast at the idea. "I can hold my own without looking into the strong Legendaries that live around here!" She paused in order to regain her composure. "I just like to read the myths about the PokeMorphs."

            Rick smiled and relaxed. "It's good to hear that not everyone is power hungry." His face lit up. "Now I know what I should do for you! Meet me in my Cycle Shop after you've stopped off at the Pokemon Center. Don't keep me waiting!" He ran out of the building without another word.

            Maria sighed and shook her head as the man disappeared out the door. "Not again...."

            Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "What?"

            "Every time I go to a new region, I get a bike for free." Maria rubbed at her forehead with one hand, as though she was starting to get a headache. "I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever be able to buy one with my own money." She shook her head. "Well, may as well oblige him. Come on."

            Maria, Scarlet, Maria's team, the Buneary, and the Clefairy -- who had been left behind by Rick -- left the Galactic building and started down towards the Cycle Shop in order to meet with Rick. The Buneary left the group as they passed the Pokemon Center, but Maria didn't really pay to much attention to it.

            Inside the Cycle Shop, Rick was waiting for them with a red bicycle with yellow streaks in the paint and a saw blade shape in between the front handlebars, painted in blue.

            "It's a new model that came out a few days ago," Rick explained. "I think you should be the first one to own a bike like this, Maria. Free of charge."

            Maria blinked in surprise at the bike, staring for a moment before she managed to regain her composure and gave Rick a bright smile. "Thank you, sir! I was planning on buying one, anyway, since Scarlet can run so fast it's going to be hard to keep up with her on foot, and I'm probably going to need one for the Cycle Road, too."

            Scarlet scowled at the jab Maria had made. "Can you blame me for wanting to get back at Galactic? Creating a clone of a Pokemon is one thing, but doing this to a Pokemon Ranger is something else!"

            Rick paled as he handed the bike's handles to Maria. "You're a Pokemon Ranger?" he asked.

            "Well, I used to be, before Charon got his hands on me and did something to me. I don't know what it was, though."

            "Well, I hope you can find out what he did," Rick said. "That man...there's something off about him."

            "You said it," Maria agreed. "From what I've heard, he's a Commander and he doesn't even use his own Pokemon!" She frowned, shaking her head. "There's no way he can be normal if their leader let him do _that."_

Scarlet frowned at that before nodding in agreement.

            "Well, thanks for the bike," Maria said as she started to collapse it and place it in her backpack.

            "It was the least I could do," Rick replied with a smile. "Perhaps I'll be able to repay you in full someday."

            "No, you don't have to do that!" Maria replied. "You've done more than enough by giving me this bike!"

            It took some doing to convince Rick that Maria really didn't need anything other than the bike he had already given her, and soon, Maria, her team, and Scarlet were back outside again.

            "So, where were you planning on going next?" Scarlet moved in front of Maria, frowning. "Because the Galactic building where I got turned into this is in Veilstone."

            "Veilstone?" Maria frowned, then pulled a map out of her backpack and looked it over. "Hmm...Well, in order to get to Veilstone, we're going to have to stop off in Harthome, then go through Solaceon. I'm lucky that I got this bike - the Cycling Road is the only way to get to Mt. Coronet from here. Too bad Star doesn't know Fly yet - we could get there in half the time it takes on foot." She looked back at Scarlet as she started to put the map away. "Sound good?"

            Scarlet shrugged. "So long as we get there. Let's go."


	9. Chapter 9

            Meanwhile, a blue and yellow biplane had landed in Sandgem Town, behind Rowan's lab. Inside, the professor was talking to a yellow creature with sky blue eyes and two tails. It also had gloves on its hands and shoes that were half red, half white. Beside the seemingly mutated Vulpix was a pair of gears floating mid-air, spinning continuously. Leaning against a wall nearby was a teenage boy with a red baseball cap and a blue jacket and jeans on, his black hair sticking out the back of his hat like a certain hedgehog's spines.

            "...and that's when I ended up here in your world," the creature was saying.

            Rowan nodded. "An interesting story, if I do say so myself. How long have you been in this time period?"

            "Not very long," the Vulpix-like creature admitted. "It never takes me very long to get a plane together, and with Gear's help it was even shorter! The Tornado took about a week tops."

            "A week?" Rowan repeated. "I find that rather hard to believe."

            The creature shrugged. "That's what most people say when they first meet me. I mean, Black thought I was joking about my adventures until I showed him my video recorder from when Sonic went Super a couple of times."

            The boy leaning against the wall grunted. "Yeah; that pretty much won me over. Tails is very talented when it comes to machines, I must admit."

            Tails grinned. "The Tornado was nothing! You just wait to see what I'm really capable of." He looked at Black. "I could upgrade your PokeDex to let it do more, if you wanted me to."

            Black smirked. "Maybe later. You said that you had wanted to find someone, right?"

            Tails nodded. "Yeah." Noticing Rowan's curious look, the Mobian fox explained, "I've been looking for a couple friends of mine that have probably ended up here already. They kind of look like those brown, spiny creatures that Black called Sandslash, only with blue or red fur, and they're more humanoid in appearance. Do you know where they might be?"

            Rowan frowned momentarily, then nodded. "I believe I do."

            "Really?" Tails asked. "Where?"

            "I'm expecting them within the hour. Hoenn isn't very far from Sinnoh, and they should be packing light."

            Just then, there was a loud knocking on the door, which sounded more like a banging. Then a voice called, "Hellooo! Anybody home?"

            Tails stiffened at the sound of the voice as his eyes widened. Then a wide grin appeared on his face, and he lunged for the door and yanked it open. "Sonic!"

            "Hey, Tails!" Sonic replied, a huge grin on his own face. "Man, is it good to see you!"

            "Where were you?" Tails asked as Sonic, Knuckles, and Kate, Kellyn, and Brendan walked in.

            "A region called 'Kanto,' apparently," Sonic replied coolly. "That's where I met Kate and Paul."

            A small, brown bird popped out of Sonic's head quills. "Pidge!" he greeted.

            Kate held out her hand for Tails to shake. "Hi. I'm Kate, a Pokemon Ranger.

            "Nice to meet you," Tails replied as he shook her hand. "I'm Miles Prower, but everybody just calls me Tails." He motioned to Gear, who was floating by Rowan. "Over there's Gear. He was the first thing I ran into."

            "A Klink, huh?" Kellyn smirked. "From what Sonic and Knuckles have told us, that seems to suit you. I'm Kellyn, also a Pokemon Ranger. I found Knuckles in the Hoenn region just last night."

            "And that's where I met Vent," Knuckles added, motioning to the Riolu on his right shoulder. "According to Sonic, his parents were taken by Team Galactic, so he tagged along for a stab at revenge."

            "Rio!" Vent agreed.

            Tails turned to look at Brendan, noticing the six red and white spheres that were attached to his belt. "And you are...?"

            "The name's Brendan," the boy replied calmly. "I'm a Pokemon Trainer."

            "You mean, like Black?"

            Black looked over and locked his brown eyes with Brendan's green ones, while Brendan nodded.

            "Trainer?" Sonic repeated. "What do they do?"

            "We train Pokemon to reach their highest levels," Brendan explained. "In the wild, Pokemon battle each other in order to get stronger. Pokemon Trainers are a step above that. We, like Rangers, capture Pokemon, only our methods are a bit more permanent than a one-use Styler Capture. For instance..." Brendan grabbed one of the red and white balls on his belt. "Go, Pine!"

            The large green lizard popped out of the ball. It started bouncing on its feet, obviously eager to do something.

            "Take it easy," Brendan said, taking note of his Pokemon's eagerness. "I'm not planning on doing any battling anytime soon."

            The Grass-Type Pokemon relaxed a little, looking over in Black's direction.

            "Those are PokeBalls, right?" Tails asked as he pointed to the red and white balls on Brendan's belt.

            Brendan nodded. "Right. Trainers use them to carry around their Pokemon more easily, like Pine."

            "Can I examine an empty one? Black hasn't got any on hand."

            "Sure," Brendan replied. He gave the two-tailed fox one of the empty spheres from his backpack.

            As Tails walked off to a nearby table to start examining the device more closely, Knuckles asked, "So, how do these battles work, anyway?"

            "Well, there are different types of battle styles that have been used over the years, but the most common one is a battle using one Pokemon at a time," Brendan explained. "That's when two Trainers are pitted against each other, sending out one of the Pokemon with them at a time. The Pokemon can be switched, either in between turns of attack or when the Pokemon is exhausted from battle and faints. If one Trainer runs out of Pokemon before the other, then that Trainer has lost the battle. That sort of end usually takes place with any battle style we use, be it a double battle, or using two Pokemon at a time, or a triple battle, with three Pokemon at once."

            "Of course, you don't have to battle just Trainers," Black noted. "Wild Pokemon can also be fought. They'll have to be, if you want to increase the number of Pokemon on your team or make the Pokemon you already have stronger. Battling Trainers will also strengthen your Pokemon."

            "They'll eventually evolve, too," Brendan added.

            "Evolve?" Sonic repeated. "Do Pokemon live for millions of years or something?"

            "What? Millions of years?" Rowan frowned. "What sort of idea is that? No, nothing like that ever happens. Once certain Pokemon reach certain conditions, they suddenly change form and become stronger. However, some are unable to evolve for one reason or another."

            Sonic looked at Paul, who looked back at him expectantly. "Does that mean it could happen to you, Paul?"

            "When I reach Level 18 by Trainer standards," Paul replied. "I'm Level 5 now."

            "You've got a ways to go, then," Sonic remarked.

            Paul nodded.

            "And you, Vent?" Knuckles looked at the Riolu curiously.

            Vent shrugged. "Ri lu."

            "He's Level 5, but he doesn't know when he's going to evolve," Kate noted, her eyebrows rising up a little.

            "And you?" Kellyn looked at the Klink.

            "Kling kling," Gear replied.

            "Also Level 5," Black noted. "That's usually the level that the starting Pokemon for all Trainers start out at. If you're going to want to find that Maria kid, you guys have a lot of training to do."

            "And how's that going to work out?" Tails asked from where he stood. The PokeBall was already lying in pieces n the worktable in front of him.

            "We'll help you guys out," Brendan replied. "Won't we, Black?"

            The other Trainer shrugged. "Fine by me. Unova's been to peaceful lately; I need some action."

            "Come on, everybody," Brendan directed. "Let's go outside so that Professor Rowan's lab doesn't get damaged by Pokemon moves. We'll start the training there."

            "Pokemon moves?" Sonic repeated as he followed the Trainer out. They walked past the Brendan's Salamence and Flygon, who were lying on the ground and snoring after the long flight from Hoenn.

            "Moves are what a Pokemon use in battle," Brendan explained. "They're normally named after normal, everyday actions. Like Fly, for instance, which is what my Salamemce and Flygon used in order to get us here. In order for a Pokemon to use a move in an official battle, though, you have to know the move's name and if the Pokemon actually knows it. For instance, I can't tell Pine to use Thunderbolt, because he didn't learn that move."

            The Grass-Type shook his head and said something that the device in Sonic's ear translated into, "Nope. Besides, I'm a Grass-Type, and Thunderbolt's and Electric-Type move."

            "Type?" Sonic frowned. "What's that got to do with anything?"

            "Black explained this to me when I was still in Unova," Tails replied. "Type refers to the element that a Pokemon represents. You can usually tell what type the Pokemon just by looking at it. For instance, Pine is a Grass-Type, meaning he could harness the sun's energy in a move called Solarbeam."

            The Sceptile nodded. "Right."

            "Oh; gotcha." Sonic looked over at Paul. "And you're a...."

            "Normal and Flying-Type," Paul replied, shifting his wings a bit.

            "Because of the wings, right?"

            Paul nodded. "Yup! And Vent's a Fighting-Type, but I think I heard him say that he'd get to be part Steel when he evolves."

            "Huh." Sonic frowned at that.

            "Types play a role with moves, too," Tails continued. "Certain moves can do more damage than others to certain types. For instance, Flying-Type moves are super effective against Pokemon of the Grass-Type, like Pine."

            Sonic's eyebrows went up, and he looked back at Paul. "And you know--"

            "Just Tackle and Sand-Attack." Paul looked a little embarrassed. "And even if I _did_ know a Flying-Type move, I wouldn't be able to do anything against Pine. He's got a way higher level than I do!"

            "So I guess Type isn't everything." Sonic grinned a bit.

            Paul nodded, then looked back at Vent, who was still sitting on Knuckles' shoulder. "Vent knows three moves right now. He said they were Quick Attack, Foresight, and Endure."

            " _Quick_ Attack?" Sonic repeated. "Is there a Speed Type or something?"

            "Speed is a status, not a type," Black replied. "Quick Attack is just a move that allows you to attack before your opponent does." He paused. "Hey, Brendan, I think we've gone far enough! This clearing looks good enough!"

            Brendan turned and looked at the Unova Trainer. "I was just thinking the same thing, actually."

            Tails looked around at the large clearing for a moment, Gear hovering next to him. "So...how do we start training?"

            "First, you're going to need to get used to battling for official Pokemon challenges," Brendan explained. "That means the Trainer is going to be telling their Pokemon what attacks and strategy they should use, and the Pokemon has to put trust in their Trainer. A practice battle should give you guys a pretty good idea as to what you can do for that."

            Vent glared at Sonic, as did Knuckles.

            "We want to go against Sonic and that bird of his," the echidna growled.

            "Fine by me," Sonic replied coolly. "You ready, Paul?"

            "Ready!" Paul flew off Sonic's shoulder and landed in front of him while Vent slid off Knuckles' shoulder and got into a battle stance.

            "I'll act as a referee to tell you two when to stop," Brendan said. "Start whenever you're ready."

            Sonic got into action instantly. "Paul, Tackle!"

            "Vent, Quick Attack!" Knuckles retorted instantly, sending Vent at a mad-dash pace towards Paul.

            Sonic quickly directed for Paul to pull up, and the Pidgey only just managed to get into the air before Vent could have rammed into him.

            "And Tackle from above!" Sonic grinned widely as Paul turned and started to dive.

            "Use Endure to let him get close," Knuckles muttered. "Then grab him!"

            Sonic stiffened when he heard Knuckles order, and he saw Vent stiffen as he prepared for Paul's attack. He tried to signal for Paul to pull up again, but the Pidgey was moving much too quickly this in time in order to let him do so, allowing for Vent to grab Paul and slam him into the ground.

            Luckily, Sonic and Paul weren't without their tricks just yet.

            "Get him with a Sand-Attack to the face -- that should make him let you go." Sonic grinned as Paul dug into the dirt with his claws and started throwing clods of it in Vent's face. The Riolu's automatic action was to throw Paul away from him and start trying to rub his eyes to get them cleared up.

            "I can't see!" Vent growled.

            "Now's our chance." Sonic nodded to Paul. "Hit him with everything you've got!"

            Paul nodded, then took off and rammed Vent in the side, sending the Riolu sprawling.

            "Vent!" Knuckles probably would have looked concerned, but his voice didn't carry any nervousness in it. "Try to use your other senses; don't rely on just your eyes to find your opponent."

            Vent rose to his feet stopped rubbing at his eyes and held his paws up in a defensive stance.

            "Again!" Sonic exclaimed.

            Paul came at Vent from behind this time, flapping his wings harshly as though he was trying to become as fast as Sonic himself.

            "Endure!" Knuckles barked.

            Vent's muscles tightened as Paul rammed into him from behind. The Riolu stumbled, but he didn't fall over.

            "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tails asked, looking up at Black.

            Black nodded. "Remember, this is the only way that Pokemon can truly grow up and mature, like we do. While we grow and adapt in one form, Pokemon must transform in order to reach their next level of maturity."

            "But Professor Rowan said that only certain Pokemon can evolve," Tails pointed out.

            "Those Pokemon mature like we do - with age," Black explained.

            "Vent, use Foresight!" Knuckles called.

            The two singular, black dreadlocks on either side of Vent's head somehow managed to lift themselves up and started glowing blue. A moment later, Paul was glowing the same color.

            "I see him!" Vent exclaimed.

            Knuckles grinned, triumphant. "Quick Attack!"

            "Paul, step on it and get out of the way!" Sonic responded.

            Paul started to fly upward, but there wasn't enough time for him to completely get away from the Riolu, who managed to grab him and bring him to the ground. Paul tried to get up, using his wings to give him some leverage, but then he fell back to the ground and didn't get back up.

            Noticing a look of concern on Tails' face, Brendan assured him, "Don't worry, he's only unconscious. Pokemon Trainers don't have their friends battle to the death." He looked over at Knuckles and Vent, the latter of whom was waiting for orders from his Trainer. "You guys won the fight. Relax."

            Cautiously, Vent tried to open his eyes. As he did, Knuckles came around to the front of his new partner and got down on one knee, arms wide. Vent saw the invitation and took it, diving into a hug that Knuckles provided.

            "You did great, kid," Knuckles told Vent. "I'm going to take it upon myself to make sure that you learn all my tricks, Vent. You've got a lot of potential."

            Vent's eyes started to water a little, and it probably wasn't just because of the dirt that was in his eyes. "Thank you!" The Riolu then hugged that knucklehead of an echidna back.

            Sonic, however, knelt next to where Paul was lying flat on his stomach. "Hey -- you all right?"

            Paul looked up at Sonic and gave him a weak smile. "I gave it my all, and even that wasn't enough."

            Brendan came over, carrying three small, round blue fruits that looked like mutated oranges in Sonic's eyes. "I'd have to say that you gave 110%, Paul." He placed the fruits in front of the Pidgey. "Here. You deserve them after working so hard."

            "Thanks," Paul muttered, slowly getting up. He started to peck at the blue fruits.

            Seeing the curious look that the Mobians were giving him, Brendan explained, "Those are called Oran Berries. They can help to bring a Pokemon back to full fighting condition. There are other fruits that can help with that, too."

            "They're like Nature's medicine, then?" Knuckles guessed as Black started to spray Vent's cuts and eyes with a purple spray bottle.

            "Exactly," Brendan confirmed. "However, we humans have created medicines that can be used on Pokemon like the Berries that can be found in the wild. Like, for instance, that Potion Black is using to heal Vent up."

            "You're lucky that I have so many of these things on hand," Black remarked. "Or else we would have to make a run for the Pokemon Center, and I don't know what Nurse Joy is going to think of you guys."

            "Why? What does she do?" Tails asked, curious.

            "She heals Pokemon that Trainers bring in for free," Brendan explained. "There's usually one in every town or city, unless the village is really small, like my hometown of Littleroot."

            "Or Nuvema Town, my home," Black added. "However, family can also be just as good a substitute as a Pokemon Center."

            Sonic rose to his feet. "So, when are we going to be meeting Scarlet?"

            Tails frowned. "Scarlet? Who's that?"

            "She's a Ranger who was turned into a Mobian," Kate explained.

            Tails jolted. "What?! How did that happen?!"

            "About three months ago, after Scarlet and a few other Rangers had stopped a group of people called Team Dim Sun, a rather vengeful ex-member kidnapped Scarlet's little sister, Magenta. Scarlet went after him with her Pokemon Partner, Pachirisu, who she likes calling Zap. I don't know what happened, but we found her lying with a serious injury, with a paralyzed Tauros standing in front of a very angry little Electric-Type. The Dim Sun goon was already long gone, and had probably learned not to mess with an angry Ranger. A week after that, Scarlet's wound had healed, but she had fallen into a coma in the process, and we didn't know when or how she was going to wake up." She paused and looked at Kellyn, who picked up where she left off.

            "About one week after she had gone comatose, someone broke into the Ranger Union in the dead of night," Kellyn explained. "They didn't deal too much damage, but whoever it was did take off with Scarlet and her life support system from right under our noses. Now we know that the person who did it is a part of Team Galactic, most likely serving under Charon, the scientist who forced Scarlet into the form of a PokeMorph, or Mobian, as you seem to be called. As all of you have seen, she is now part..." He trailed off and looked back at Sonic.

            "Part echidna, part hedgehog, and part fox." Sonic motioned to Knuckles, himself, and Tails. "I'm guessing that something along the lines of a sciency-DNA switcheroo happened."

            Tails' eyes widened. "You really think that this Charon guy somehow found some of our DNA?" he asked.

            "It could be possible," Knuckles remarked. "Brendan told me on the way down that Mobians were nothing more than a myth before all of this started to happen." He looked at me and Tails. "And that means that we've been brought out of our time and into what could be considered our future."

            "But how did Pokemon come into existence in the first place?" Sonic asked. "It almost sounds like the Xorda attack on Earth."

            "What?" Brendan asked, confused.

            "Looong story," Knuckles stated flatly. "If we find the time, preferably when Scarlet is present, we'll tell you about our world, and how we came into existence properly."

            "Speaking of which, when are we going to go find her?" Paul asked. He had gotten through his third Oran Berry, and was starting to look much better.

            "I was kind of wondering the same thing." Sonic nodded in agreement.

            "I was planning on meeting her in Canalave," Professor Rowan stated as he walked into the clearing. "It's a port city to the northwest of here."

            "How far away is it, do you think?" Vent asked.

            "Not far from here, per say," Rowan admitted. "However, Maria and Scarlet are a pretty fair distance from us."

            "And how far is that?" Knuckles asked dryly.

            Rowan unfurled a map and pointed to an area on the other side of a mountain. "Right here, in Harthome."

            "How so you know that?" Sonic asked.

            "Why, I just received a call from them," Rowan replied casually. "It will take them a few days to get to Canalave. In the meantime, how about the three of you do some more training? There are Pokemon around here that would be more than willing to take you on."

            Sonic glanced at Paul. "And if our Pokemon get hurt?"

            "You can bring them to me, Black, or Rowan, and we'll heal them," Brendan replied. "After we get you guys introduced to the world properly, then you can go to Nurse Joy and have her do it."

            "And when is that going to happen?" Tails inquired.

            "Most likely when this Team Galactic business is over and done with," Black remarked. "I'm definitely sticking around for this - nothing exciting ever happens in Unova."

            Sonic eyed the Trainer that Tails had made friends with. Black did look like he was itching to do something, and it made him wonder if Tails had told him anything about what they had done over the years.

            "Sometimes, you have to be careful what you wish for," he muttered under his breath. Sonic remember very clearly the last time he had wished for something exciting, and we barely survived what came after.

            Tails probably heard what Sonic had muttered, because he gave the hedgehog a rather sorrowful look. Then he looked over at Gear. "Come on, Gear. Let's get some training in before the end of the day. I want you to know more than just Vicegrip."

            "To know another move would be nice," the Klink admitted as the two disappeared into the trees.

            Knuckles smiled at Vent. "Let's find a quiet place, you and me, and I'll show you what I can do."

            Vent grinned excitedly. "All right!"

            Knuckles' and Tails' statements were quick to snap Sonic out of his funk, and he gave Paul a grin.

            "Come on," the hedgehog said. "We don't want to be left in the dust and lower in level than everyone else. Besides; I'm going to show you how to get faster!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the whole Archie Comics timeline is up in the air right now when it comes to what's going on and what's happened (especially considering Penders *shudders*) but I'm keeping some of the characters in here that he made use of and invented. The story doesn't run quite as well otherwise, unfortunately. Maybe that's one thing I'll go back and actually change in the future, but I'll have to see.


	10. Chapter 10

            As soon as Scarlet and Maria entered the cave in Mt. Coronet, Scarlet was pulled into a pool of water by a rather mischievous Chingling.

            Scarlet came up for air, gasping, then glared at the little Psychic-Type. "What was that for?!"

            The prankster expression on the little Pokemon's face changed to a more serious one, surprising the Ranger. "There's a scary man here. He's looking for you."

            Scarlet jolted. "What?"

            "Come on!" The Chingling half-hopped, half-bounced across the ground along the pool. After a moment, Scarlet followed after the Pokemon, relieved that she was still able to swim despite her new form.

            When Scarlet reached the other side of the channel and started climbing out, however, she paused when she saw the figure who was standing in front of Maria, who had a dark frown on her face.

            Scarlet covered her nose, frowning at the smell of what she guessed was the man's cologne, eyeing his brown overcoat and the fancy-looking pants the man was wearing. Probably the the one thing that caught her attention the most, though, was that the man's hair looked a lot like the saw-blade-like shape on Maria's cap and on the back of Scarlet's own head.

            "See?" The Chingling bounced from one foot to the other. "I told you."

            Scarlet nodded slightly in agreement. "Yeah...."

            Scarlet watched as Maria stepped to one side, letting the man move past her before she crossed the cave the rest of the way and joined me on the other side.

            "Who was that guy?" Scarlet asked as they walked out of Mt. Coronet.

            "Just some guy who's interested in the creation of the world," Maria replied. "I didn't get his name, but he did say some rather weird things."

            Scarlet frowned. "Like what?"

            "Like the fact that he said that the world is no longer perfect, and it's the fault of the human spirit."

            Scarlet did a double-take. "He said _what?"_

            Maria nodded glumly. "Yeah. I can't help but think I'm going to have more run-ins like that in the future with him. I could practically feel the uneasiness of the Pokemon around me. They probably know more about this guy than we do, but they're too afraid to tell us properly."

            "I wonder what we're going to be in for..."

            As the group entered Harthome, a Buneary suddenly ran into them and tried to climb into Scarlet's jacket to hide. The Ranger grabbed the Pokemon before she could and held it in her arms, blinking in surprise when she noticed that the little Pokemon was trembling.

            "Buneary!" A young woman called, running over. She had auburn hair and bright blue eyes, and was wearing a fancy-looking dress, covered in sequins and sparkling in the sunlight like a giant jewel.

            "Oh, thank you for stopping Buneary from running any further," the woman said to Scarlet.

            "Uh, it seems a little nervous..." Maria remarked quietly.

            "That's because a mean young man came by earlier and insulted our bond of friendship. He was really mad about it, too, saying that everything about this world was a lie." The woman quickly returned the Buneary into a PokeBall -- which the Buneary was apparently more than happy to do.

            "My name is Kira," the woman introduced herself, curtseying. "I don't know what I would have done if Buneary had left me for good. Who might you be?"

            "I'm Maria, and this is my partner, Prinplup." Maria motioned to herself and her Pokemon.

            "And I'm Scarlet," Scarlet added. "And before you say anything about my being able to talk, I'm going to say that I'm not really a Pokemon."

            Kira smiled quietly. "I know already; word spreads pretty quickly in the form of rumors. Have you heard anything about the others that are popping up?"

            "We heard from the Cyclist shop in Eternia," Maria replied. "Scarlet doesn't think that there could be any actual wild PokeMorphs, but I have other ideas about what's going on. Have you heard anything about a Team Galactic recently?"

            Kira thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Not really; there hasn't been much trouble around here. How about you come by the Contest Hall later? I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

            Maria shrugged. "I'll pop by later. Is there a Gym in town?"

            Kira nodded. "Yup. The Leader's Fantina, and she is really into Contests. In fact, she's probably at the Contest Hall right now. Come on; I'll show you where it is."

            The group walked through town, passing by a number of buildings -- including the PokeMart and the Gym. Scarlet found herself impressed by the size of the Contest Hall, however.

            "This looks like a colosseum," the Ranger noted as they walked towards the building.

            Maria chuckled. "Well, the competitions inside can sometimes get to be a little... _intense."_

            "Oh! Lady Fantina!"

            Maria and Scarlet turned to see who Kira was talking to, catching sight of a woman standing in front of the Contest hall dressed from head to toe in purple, with her hair styled in a way that seemed to be even _more_ unusual than Jupiter's.

            Fantina gained a bright smile upon seeing Kira. "Well hello, Kira! You look like ze dazzling sun today."

            "Thank you," Kira said. "Fantina, this Pokemon Trainer wants to challenge you to a battle."

            Maria grinned at the Gym Leader. "Hi! The name's Maria, and this is Prinplup, one of my Pokemon."

            "Prin," Prinplup said casually.

            Fantina looked the two over for about half a minute. "Not strong enough," she finally stated calmly. "Come back when you has...fourth Gym Badge." With that, she walked around us and down the street to who knows where.

            Maria placed her hands on her hips as she watched the strange woman walk away. "Well!"

            "I had no idea she was going to do that," Kira remarked. "But, Fantina is a Coordinator of her word, so you won't be able to fight her until you get more badges."

            Maria shrugged. "That's not going to be too much of a problem. In Hoenn, I wasn't able to fight Norman until I had four Gym Badges. And then there was the Viridian Gym, which I reached first but had to enter last. Besides - I already have two Badges, so it won't take me as long."

            "Where _are_ all the Gyms in this region, anyway?" Scarlet asked, frowning. "Besides the ones here and in Eternia."

            "Well, there was one in Oreburgh -- that's the first Gym we took care of." Maria grinned at Prinplup, who puffed up his chest rather proudly. "There's one in Veilstone, too -- which is where you want to go anyway -- and...Pastoria, Canalave, Snowpoint, and Sunnyshore. So, altogether, I've got six Gyms left. It shouldn't take me too long to take them on, though."

            "My, my, aren't you the confident one," Kira remarked.

            "That's because I've fought all the Gyms in Kanto, Jhoto, and Hoenn," Maria explained. "I know exactly what I am capable of. All my Pokemon need are a little training, and they'll be good to go. Right, Prinplup?"

            "Prin!"

            Scarlet grinned at the Water-Type's response, but then her smile faded a little when she realized that there was a Pokemon that she interacted with the same way back in Almia, and it felt strange without Zap by her side. Remembering that she had the PokeGear in her pocket, she decided that she was going to fix that.

            After Maria and Scarlet were given a quick tour of the Contest Hall -- and Maria revealed that she was the Trainer who had managed to succeed in becoming the best Coordinator in Hoenn -- the went to the Pokemon Center for a quick rest before they went on their way to Veilstone.

            "Do you mind staying here for a little while longer?" Maria asked Scarlet as she got her Pokemon back from Nurse Joy. "I want to see if there's anything else I might be able to do around here before we get moving again."

            Scarlet frowned a bit, but she nodded. "Sure. I'll be waiting over there." She motioned over to the sitting area in the lobby.

            "Great! I'm going to have a quick look around town. Be right back!"

            As soon as Maria had left, Scarlet pulled out her PokeGear and scrolled through the contact list, noticing that Lily had put her number in there, as well as Professor Rowan's and Maria's.

            "I guess I could have just called ahead and gotten her to meet me somewhere instead of just chasing after her," Scarlet grumbled as she chose Rowan's number.

            _::Hello?_ _Professor Rowan speaking.::_

            "Hey -- it's Scarlet. I was kind of wondering if you could ask Professor Hastings to send over my Partner Pokemon, Zap. I'm starting to feel a little lonely without him."

            _::I'll ask him about it. Where are you?::_

            "Harthome city. Fantina won't let Maria battle her until she has four badges, so we're going to be heading to Veilstone next."

            _::Ah. I think Lucas was planning on doing the same thing. He called me about an hour ago, saying that he couldn't find Fantina, so he was just going to go to Veilstone instead::_

            I frowned. "Who's Lucas?"

            _::One of Maria's friends. You'll probably meet him soon enough. I'm afraid I have to get going, Scarlet. I have some business to attend to::_

            "Sure. I don't want to hold you up."

            As Scarlet hung up, Maria came in with a Happiny in her arms and Prinplup at her side. "I'm back!" She frowned slightly when she saw Scarlet holding the PokeGear. "Were you...talking to someone?"

            "Yeah," Scarlet replied, putting away the PokeGear. "Lily gave me this before I left Sandgem. I just called Rowan to ask him to have Hastings send me Zap, my Pokemon Partner, a Pachirisu, from my days as a Ranger."

            Maria nodded as she put the Happiny into a PokeBall. "Feeling a little lonely for it, huh?"

            "Yeah. So, where'd you get the Happiny?"

            "A Hiker gave her to me," Maria explained as she transferred said Pokemon into the Box System. "I had to bike around for a little bit in order to get the Egg to hatch, though. And then Barry comes up out of nowhere and demands a battle with me. I beat him, though."

            "Barry?" Scarlet frowned. "You mentioned that name back in Eternia."

            Maria nodded. "He's my rival. Always rushing from one place to the next, only caring about making his Pokemon stronger than mine. It certainly makes my Pokemon stronger every time I battle him, I must admit."

            "Huh. You know, Rowan mentioned that we might run into Lucas in Veilstone."

            "Really? Huh. I wonder what he's doing heading there? Collecting more Pokemon for Rowan's PokeDex Project, no doubt." Maria looked down at Prinplup, then back at Scarlet. "Well, I think I'm pretty much done here. Let's start towards Solaceon before we lose anymore daylight."

            Scarlet frowned. "Solaceon?"

            "Yeah; it's on the way to Veilsone." Maria started for the door of the Pokemon Center again, pausing and looking back long enough for Scarlet to get up from where she had been sitting and follow after her. "I heard there are some ruins up in that direction, and I'd like to have a look around."

            "Think there might be some stuff on PokeMorphs?"

            "Maybe; we'll have to see when we get there."

**Spacial Break**

            Charon was feeling very disgruntled lately. After that girl Trainer had stopped their operations in Eternia, it was becoming harder and harder for him to gather the information that he needed. Not only that, but the PokeMorph he had managed to create had joined up with her! Ooooh, how he wanted to send another grunt squad out! However, he had used that privilege already, and his squad was working under Saturn now. Pesky grandson...

            While he was brooding, Cyrus crept into the old man's lab, where he placed a small plastic bag containing three rock-like splinters. "Charon," he said, trying to catch the Commander scientist's attention.

            Charon looked up, a little startled at the Galactic Leader's intrusion. "What is it?" he asked.

            Cyrus motioned to the scientific equipment scattered around the room. "I am aware of your project, Charon. You can't hide everything from me."

            "When did you -"

            "When that red beast ran through the building and forced me to install the warp panel system ahead of time. Now, what exactly are you planning, old man?"

            Charon smiled nervously. "Well, I was trying to...recreate a myth from before our time."

            Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "The PokeMorphs? Really? Was that what trashed our headquarters?"

            Charon nodded dumbly. "A simple mistake. I chose a comatose Pokemon Ranger as my test subject."

            Cyrus shook his head in disappointment. "As my elder, I expected you to not make any mistakes like that. But, why a Ranger?"

            "The child was close to death, anyway. Besides, she is a very hardy type of human, and that was exactly what I was looking for."

            "Well, the next to try something like that, I expect you to learn from your mistakes," Cyrus said as he moved the plastic bag a little. "I will be watching you, Charon."

            With that, the young man left the room.

            Once Cyrus had closed the door, he could hear Charon's exclamations of surprise as he picked up what his leader had left behind. No doubt he had already picked his next target and was getting ready to head out to get him/her. The Galactic Leader shook his head, a small smirk on his face. So long as the old man was busy with his own projects and not sticking his nose into everyone else's, Cyrus was content to let the old man do what he wanted.

            However, this project actually looked...intriguing. The fact that Charon had managed to actually create a PokeMorph with nothing more than a Ranger and some pieces of what looked like fossilized hairs roused Cyrus' curiosity. If the old man could reproduce what he got on his first try, maybe the creature would be of some use...

            Meanwhile, Charon was calling his assistant, Catherine, and telling her to find the next victim -- err, _experiment_ \-- and bring her to the lab as soon as possible.


	11. Chapter 11

Maria looked around, frowning. "Okay, where was the exit...aha!" She dashed up a flight of stairs and emerged from the cave, grinning. "I'm back!"

            "You finally caught that Unown?" Scarlet asked. She had stayed outside of the ruins, just in case anyone wanted to come by and seal the cave. At least, that was her excuse. Maria really thought that the Ranger-turned-Mobian/PokeMorph was claustrophobic, or maybe just didn't like dark places.

            Maria held up the Dusk Ball, grinning. "Yup. I got a good look at the markings on the walls, too." Her grin faded a little. "There wasn't really anything on the PokeMorphs, but there was an incantation carved on one of the walls that I've seen a couple times before."

            "An incantation?" one of Scarlet's ears twitched as a curious expression appeared on her face.

            "Yeah. 'The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, enriched by the heart. The controller exists to unify the chaos'." Maria frowned. "I haven't seen it named, but this place actually did give it a title -- Tikal's Prayer. I have no idea what it means, though."

            "Maybe you can think about it while we're heading to Veilstone," Scarlet responded impatiently.

            Maria gained an amused expression at Scarlet's statement, then gave a nod. "All right. Give me fifteen minutes, and I'll meet you on the other side of town."

            Scarlet gave a short nod, then disappeared in a blur of red.

            After Scarlet disappeared, Maria remained where she was standing for a moment before she shook her head and chuckled, "I don't know how, but I can't help but get the feeling that she's becoming more like the Blue Blur with that personality of hers." She turned and looked back at Solaceon, a small smile appearing on her face as she started back to the Pokemon Center. "I wonder...those PokeMorphs that Rick mentioned back in Eternia...are they really here? Or are they something else?"

            It didn't take Maria very long to get her Pokemon healed or her medicines restocked, and she soon joined up with Scarlet at the other side of town.

            "You ready?" Scarlet asked, tapping one foot against the dirt path.

            Maria shifted a little on her bike's seat and nodded. "Let's go. I want to get to Veilstone before nightfall."

            Unfortunately, the Trainers who were on the route made it a little difficult for Maria and Scarlet to make it very far very quickly. The only good thing that resulted from the challenges was that Maria's Pokemon quickly grew stronger, with Rose finally evolving into a Roselia, and a Chingling she had come across earlier gaining strength as well.

            "Scarlet!" Maria hit the brakes on the bike, coming to a stop in front of a small building on the route. "Hang on a second!"

            The Ranger zoomed over to her side. "What is it?"

            Maria pointed to the building she had stopped in front of. "This place has Moomoo Milk. It's been _years_ since I've last had a proper taste of the stuff!"

            Scarlet's face contorted into an expression of impatience. _"Maria."_

            "I know, I know." Maria was tempted to roll her eyes at Scarlet, but decided against it. "I'll be quick. It's probably just a place where Trainers can have their Pokemon recover their strength." She stepped off her bike and folded it up, placing it back inside her backpack before heading inside...

            ...only to be greeted by a maid with a Clefairy.

            "Hi!" the maid said cheerily. "You're a Trainer, right?"

            Maria's eyes narrowed. "Yes."

            "Then how about having a battle with us? If you can beat all of us, I'll let you walk away with half a dozen bottles of Moomoo Milk!"

            Maria's eyebrows shot up, and she gained a wide grin. "Sure."

            A few minutes later, she walked out of the hut with a slightly heavier backpack -- and not just because she had the Moomoo Milk.

            "Here!" Maria tossed Scarlet a bottle, the Ranger catching it easily.

            "There's rain coming," Scarlet warned as she put the bottle in a pocket inside her jacket. "We're going to have to move if we're going to get to Veilstone."

            Maria looked up at the sky, frowning when she noticed that there were storm clouds coming in. "That's the direction we're going to have to go if we're going to head to Veilstone, so we're going to get wet anyway." She pulled out her bike and got on. "Come on! We're going to get soaked anyway."

            With that, she took off towards the rain storm, leaving Scarlet behind with a shocked expression. The Ranger shook off her shock pretty quickly, however, and she followed after Maria...

            ...and right into a curtain of rain that soaked Scarlet through in seconds, causing her entire body to grow heavy because of all her fur. She quickly found a bridge to hide under and waited for Maria to catch up to her.

            Maria eventually did catch up to Scarlet, but much to the Ranger's astonishment, Maria was _grinning,_ despite the fact that she was soaked through and probably cold.

            "How is it that you are actually _enjoying_ this weather?" Scarlet asked Maria. "I can't stand it!"

            "Well, that's because I've spent so much time out of a building on my travels," Maria explained. "You'd be happy to feel the rain, too, if you hadn't had a shower for a few days."

            Scarlet blinked at that, then frowned. "Well...I guess, when you put it _that_ way."

            "Come on; I'm getting the feeling that we're close to Veilstone." Maria motioned for Scarlet to follow her, and biked out into the rain again, grinning widely.

            Scarlet made it a point to hide in the trees as Maria continued to battle Trainers left and right, working her way through the route with relative ease. Despite the occasional detours she took in order to reach items or other Trainers, she and Scarlet were able to reach Veilstone rather quickly.

            As they stepped into town, the rain lessened, causing Scarlet to let out a sigh of relief and shake herself.

            Maria laughed and jumped back, avoiding the cascade of water as best she could. "We're definitely going to have to dry off before we go anywhere!"

            "Easy for you to say!" Scarlet responded. "I'm going to smell like a wet Ursaring for _days!"_

            "Then take a shower!"

            As Maria laughed at Scarlet's predicament, she noticed that the Ranger's gaze had moved away from her and towards something nearby. Blinking in confusion, she followed Scarlet's eyes and paused, frowning.

            "That's it," Scarlet said, glaring at the tall building towering over the rest of Veilstone. "That's the building where Charon's hiding out."

            Maria nodded in response. "I see." She looked around at the city streets for a moment, then noticed something else. "Look over there. It looks like those two goons are guarding that warehouse for some reason." She walked over to them and made as though she was going to get past them, only for one of the grunts to push her back.

            "This is Team Galactic's warehouse! This is not a playground for kids," one of the grunts stated, glaring at Maria.

            Maria glared back at them for a moment, then turned and walked back over to Scarlet. "Looks like they're not the talking type, and I don't really have the time to try to persuade them. I need to restore my Pokemon to health, anyway." She walked away from the green-haired goons. Scarlet glared at the two grunts for a moment before following after the Trainer.

            After the visit to the Pokemon Center -- and a thorough drying-off -- Maria and Scarlet started looking around for the Gym, rather than a way into the warehouse or the Galactic HQ building. If that wasn't annoying enough for Scarlet, the fact that they'd overheard a Galactic goon saying that the HM Fly was in the warehouse was more than enough to get Maria interested in going after the warehouse and staging a raid on it.

            When they did find the Gym, a boy wearing a red hat, jeans, and a zipped up black jacket with a white zigzag pattern was standing near the entrance. He spotted them pretty quickly. "Hey, Maria!" he called.

            "Hiya, Lucas!" Maria called back. "What are you doing around here?"

            "I was just at the Game Corner," Lucas replied. "Played a few games in there." He looked over at Scarlet. "Oh, hey! Professor Rowan called me about an hour ago and told me you were gong around with Maria. Scarlet, right?"

            "Yup," Scarlet confirmed. "You're Lucas, right?"

            Lucas nodded. "How is it - being a PokeMorph, I mean."

            "A lot like being a human, with a few exceptions." Scarlet pointed to myself for emphasis.

            Lucas let out a laugh. "I'll say. You almost look like a Pokemon!"

            "Well, this is what a lot of PokeMorphs looked like," Maria remarked. "It's just that they all act like super-powered humans - like in those comic books you like to read."

            Lucas blushed a little. "Did you _have_ to say that in front of Ranger Scarlet?"

            Scarlet chuckled. "To be honest, my little sister's a bit of a fan of those kinds of things, too."

            Lucas' eyes brightened, then he heard a beeping noise and checked the blue device he had in his left wrist. "Well, I'd better get going. See you guys later!" He ran off.

            "See ya!" Maria called after him. She looked at Scarlet with a curious expression. "I didn't know you had a sister."

            Scarlet paused at the statement, then sighed and gave a nod. "Yeah, I've got a little sister. She should be about...seven years old right about now."

            "What's her name?"

"Magenta." Scarlet snorted when she saw the look Maria was giving her. "I know, kind of an unexpected name, right? Mom and Dad got it into their heads that we should be named after colors, y'know, like red, blue, so on and so forth. I guess it helps us stand out a little. I wonder how they're doing..." Scarlet trailed off, becoming lost in thought.

            Maria's brow furrowed when she saw Scarlet's saddened expression. "Hey, don't be discouraged. You'll see them again; I just know it."

            "It's not that," Scarlet replied. "It's this." She motioned to her form. "What is my family going to think of this when I find my way back to Almia? I bet that some of my old friends are going to think that I'm a freak of nature!"

            "But you're not!" Maria pointed out. "Your DNA was just messed around with so that the PokeMorphs came back into existence! Maybe you were meant to become what you are now."

            "If I was, then I've got a grudge against destiny," Scarlet growled. "You do want to fight the Gym Leader here, right?"

            Maria nodded, a little nervous at Scarlet's bad mood. "Look, if I hit a nerve, I'm sorry."

            "Forget it. We were going to end up talking about it, anyway. Let's go."

            Maria hesitated at Scarlet's slightly snarling voice, then gave a nod and walked into the Gym. She paused a moment later and let out a whistle. "Wow. Now _this_ looks like a Gym."

            Scarlet's eyebrows rose as she stepped inside. "More like a dojo."

            Maria chuckled. "Yeah." She looked around the large room for a moment, taking note of the boxing rings and the Black Belts who were standing in them, then the pink-haired girl sitting on a blue mat in the back of the Gym, mediating with a Meditite and a Lucario.

            "Who are you going to use?" Scarlet asked, looking at Maria with a curious gruffness.

            Maria frowned. "Probably Star, for the most part." She slipped off her jacket and tied it around her waist, above her belt of PokeBalls. "Are you going to watch again?"

            "Nah; I'm going to head to bed. The sun's probably set by now."

            "Okay then." Maria gave Scarlet a nod, then turned and launched herself at the nearest punching back, slamming into it with more than enough force to send it rocketing to the other side of the metal frame it was hooked to. "See you in the morning!"

            After Scarlet left, it didn't take too long for Maria to battle through the boxing rings and the Black Belts, barely stopping between fights for a breather despite the fact that it was slowly getting later.

            "I fought Brock and Blue late at night," Maria muttered to herself. "Morty, too. I can handle it."

            It didn't take her too long to solve the puzzle and reach the Gym Leader, who stood up from her meditation position in order to introduce herself.

            "My name is Maylene," she said. "I'm the Gym Leader."

            "And I'm Maria," Maria replied. "I'm here to challenge you to a battle."

            Maylene smirked. "I accept, but you and your Pokemon should rest first. You can sleep here, and in the morning we shall do battle."

            Maria blinked at that statement, then smiled and nodded. "Sure. Thanks, Maylene."


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning, when Scarlet got up, she noticed that Maria hadn't entered their room and taken the lower bunk during the night.

            "Well, I guess she must still be at the Gym or something," Scarlet muttered, rolling out of bed.

            In no time, she had managed to get herself prepared for the day, and she left the Pokemon Center and made her way to the Gym. When she got there, Lucas was standing nervously in front of the entrance.

            "Morning, Lucas," Scarlet said, nodding in greeting.

            Lucas looked over. "Morning," he replied weakly.

            "Is something wrong?"

            The Trainer nodded. "I accidentally dropped my PokeDex."

            Scarlet blinked, then shrugged. "I can help you look around for it, if that's what you need help with."

            "It's not that." Lucas took off his hat, revealing midnight blue hair, and started to twist it nervously. "I know where it is."

            "Then why don't you go get it?"

            "Because Team Galalctic has it!"

            Scarlet's eyebrows shot up at the sudden outburst. She had thought that Lucas was a quiet guy when she had met him yesterday, and hadn't expected him to lose his cool suddenly like that.

            Lucas sighed and put his hat back on. "I was going to ask Maria for help, but she's battling the Gym Leader right now. When she gets out, could you ask her to meet me by the warehouses?"

            Scarlet nodded. "Yeah, sure. I can do that."

            "'K. Thanks, Scarlet. I've gotta go." With that, Lucas turned and ran off.

            A moment later, Maria stepped out of the Gym, looking refreshed. "Morning, Scarlet."

            "Morning." Scarlet motioned with her head towards the Galactic HQ. "Lucas was standing out here a minute earlier. He wants us to meet him by that warehouse we saw on our way in."

            "Why?" Maria asked, frowning.

            "Team Galactic has his PokeDex, and he wants our help getting it back."

            Maria's frown deepened. "O.K. I'm going to make a run to the Pokemon Center. Maylene managed to faint three of my Pokemon with Lucario alone." She pulled out her bike and pedaled off. Scarlet followed after her, since the Pokemon Center was on the way to the warehouse, and waited for Maria's Pokemon to heal up before going the rest of the way. Lucas, as he had promised, was waiting for them.

            "Hey, Maria," Lucas said nervously. "Team Galactic has my PokeDex, and they won't give it back. Will you help me take these two on?"

            Maria grinned. "Sure. Anything that involves beating them to a pulp."

            "And we're definitely not letting these guys get away with anything," Scarlet agreed, grinning.

            The following battle ended with both of the grunts getting trounced by Lucas' Clefairy and Monferno, and Maria's Prinplup and Roselia.

            "This stinks!" one of the grunts complained as he returned his Stunky. "We should get new Pokemon from Headquarters."

            "Who care about some PokeDex, anyway?" the other one muttered. "Team Galactic's gonna rule the world...no, the universe. Take your PokeDex back!"

            "All the stuff's been moved to Pastoria, anyway," the first grunt said. "So, we'll just say 'You'll get yours!' and run like the grunts we are."

            With that, the two goons ram off.

            "What is going on?" Lucas asked himself. "Why is Team Galactic out on the streets like they own the place?" He looked at Maria. "Thanks for helping me get my PokeDex back. If Professor Rowan found out...man, I don't even want to think about that!"

            "So, where are you planning on heading next?" Maria asked. "I'm heading to Pastoria. There's a Pokemon Gym there, and I want to go there before I take on Fantina in Harthome."

            "I'm heading to Pastoria, too," Lucas said. "The Great Marsh is the best place to look for Pokemon. Why don't we travel together?"

            "Nah, I'd probably slow you down by battling every single Trainer en route. You go on ahead; I'll meet you there."

            "All right, then. See ya!" With that, Lucas ran to the Pokemon Center.

            Maria turned and grinned at Scarlet. "Now, let's see what's in that warehouse!"

            Scarlet grinned. "I'm all for looting the enemy."

            The two of them ran into the storage facility and started digging around in the crates that were lying scattered around in there.

            "Looks like most of these are empty!" Scarlet called over to Maria.

            "Yeah, I noticed that, too," Maria agreed. "But there's always something that gets left behind...jackpot! HM02!" She held up the disk, grinning. "Now I can teach Star Fly, and she can get me to places that we've been to already!"

            Scarlet's ears perked up in interest. "Really? That sounds a lot like Soaring, but we aren't restrained just by places we've been."

            Maria hummed at that as she put the HM in her backpack. "I kinda wish we were allowed to do that, but there are some things we're restricted by. Trainers aren't supposed to have journeys that are entirely easy, you know. Come on; let's head back to the Pokemon Center. I want to make sure my team's all right before we go and check out that Galactic Building."

            Scarlet's ears seemed to straighten even higher at that, and she grinned widely. "Perfect."

            One quick trip to the Pokemon Center later, and Maria and Scarlet were standing in front of the very building that Scarlet had escaped from days ago.

            Scarlet clenched her fists. "Let's go."

            Maria nodded in agreement. "Right."

            The two of them started walking into the building...only for Maria to suddenly stop short and grip Scarlet's shoulder tightly.

            Scarlet turned sharply to face Maria. "Hey! What are you--" She stopped short when she saw the look on Maria's face. It was almost as though she had been slapped.

            "Maria?" Scarlet frowned. "What's going on with you?"

            Maria blinked at Scarlet's voice, then shook her head. She still looked shaken, but not as much as she had before. "Nothing."

            "Then why'd you stop?"

            Maria was about to answer when a pair of Galactic goons started coming out of the building. Scarlet suddenly found herself dragged behind one of the satellite dishes as the grunts walked past, talking to each other.

            Well, more like complaining.

            "What do you think of the warp panel system our Leader set up?" one asked.

            "I find it ridiculous," the other replied. "I mean, we have to memorize where all the panels lead. What's wrong with stairs, for Pidgot's sake?"

            Maria waited until the two goons were out of earshot to let out a loud groan. _"Warp panels._ Of all the things that they _had_ to do to mimic the other evil teams, it just _had_ to be warp panels." She dropped her head into her hands and muttered what sounded like a stream of half-growls, half curses. "Arceus knows they probably have doors that need _keys,_ too."

            Scarlet frowned. "So?"

            "So, it means that they're ready for a frontal assault!" Maria frowned at Scarlet. "Which means I won't be able to attack it until I have at least seven Badges under my belt, and a stronger team. I'm sorry, Scarlet, but we won't be raiding this dungeon today."

            Scarlet's frown deepened, and she let out an irritated sigh in response. "All right; fine. Let's just get you stronger and get you back here as soon as possible. Where to next?"

            Maria blinked at Scarlet's statement, then gained a determined expression. "Pastoria. Come on!" She ran out from behind the dish and towards Veilstone's south gate. Scarlet followed after her a moment later, keeping up with Maria easily. In no time, they were out of Veilstone and dodging Trainer battles and Pokemon left and right.

            "Whoo!" Maria laughed as the path below their feet switched from dirt to stone. "I didn't think I'd end up getting so many challengers like that!"

            "No kidding," Scarlet muttered in agreement, pulling grass out of her fur. "How much farther until Pastoria?"

            "Not far, I don't think. We just have to get through this resort and go up the beach a little." Maria looked at the building they were coming up on. "Hey, that's a restaurant! I wonder if they do Pokemon battles--" She saw the look that came over Scarlet's face and sighed. "All right; I'll come back here later."

            Scarlet gave a curt nod, then zipped out of sight before anyone else could catch sight of her.

            The duo soon left the resort area and made their way up a beach -- just as Maria had said they would -- before they entered Pastoria.

            "This place doesn't really look like a place for a Gym," Scarlet remarked, looking around. "This town is pretty much just a forest clearing."

            "But they do have a Safari Zone." Maria inspected a sign, frowning. "Great Marsh, huh? Sounds like there might be some rare Pokemon hiding in there."

            Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "You're not seriously thinking of going _in_ there, are you?"

            "Well, why not?" Maria grinned. "There could be some Pokemon in there who would be able to help me out against other Gym Leaders. It's only 5000 Poke, so I should be fine."

            "Five _thousand?"_ Scarlet stared, aghast. "Just how much money do you _have_?!"

            Maria laughed. "More than enough! Go to the Pokemon Center and get us a room, will you? I get the feeling that I'm going to want to take a shower later."

**Time Break**

            Scarlet rolled her eyes as Maria came out of the bathroom wearing jeans, a white shirt, and a yellow jacket. "How it is that _you_ got yourself covered from head to toe in _mud,_ I don't think I'll ever want to know."

            Maria snickered in response. "Still, it _was_ pretty fun. I heard a couple Trainers talking in there about looking for Pokemon that were strong against Water-Types; that must be what this Gym Leader's strength is. And I've definitely got good Pokemon who can take him on." She grinned. "This is going to be fun."

            Scarlet wasn't entirely sure what Maria's definition of "fun" was. They had only been together a few days, and she was already sure that Maria was probably one of the more eccentric Trainers out there.

            Well, she had to be, considering that she was able to take on three Teams all by herself.


	13. Chapter 13

            Scarlet wasn't entire sure what she had been expecting when she followed Maria into Pastoria's Gym, but it definitely hadn't been an oddly-shaped pool with planks of wood and buttons all over the place.

            "I don't see why he needs all the buttons in here," Scarlet remarked as she stood at the edge of the pool. "I could just as easily swim across in order to reach him."

            The Ranger was about to dive in, but Maria grabbed her arm before she could get very far.

            "You might want to take a second look at the water," Maria warned. "They're pretty well-camouflaged, but it's easy enough to find them if you know what you're looking for."

            Scarlet frowned at that, but looked at the water more carefully, like Maria had suggested. Her eyes widened a moment later when she saw the dark shapes that were swimming around in the water. "Tentacruel and Sharpedo? How didn't I notice them?" She looked at Maria, frowning. "And how did _you_ notice them?"

            Maria shrugged in response. "I've learned to look for things people wouldn't normally see, that's all." She looked back at the statue that was by the entrance. "Those are the Gym Leader's Pokemon, right?"

            The statue's head nodded. "They are Crasher Wake's Pokemon, but he doesn't use them for battle. They just dissuade Trainers from trying to swim over to him."

            Maria nodded. "I thought as much. No Trainer can have more than six on a team at a time, anyway." She grinned at Scarlet. "Come on; Wake isn't going to wait all day, you know. Besides, I think this puzzle might be an interesting one."

            Scarlet wasn't sure if the puzzle was interesting or just annoying to the point that she wanted to pull her fur out. She couldn't make heads or tails of most of the buttons and which one would raise or lower the water level, but Maria was somehow able to figure out the problem quite easily while taking on the Fishermen and Sailors who worked as Gym Trainers.

            Eventually, they reached Crasher Wake himself -- a bare-chested man and wore a mask over his face that was probably supposed to look like crashing waves. His pants looked more like swim trunks, and were a plain blue.

            Scarlet stayed as far away from the two as possible, watching as Maria and Rose worked in sync to take down Wake's Pokemon -- first a Gyarados, then a Floatzel, then a Quagsire.

            "Normal Trainers aren't able to bond with their Pokemon this easily, much less this quickly," Scarlet murmured to herself, frowning. "And Trainers don't move this quickly through regions normally, either. Just...what _is_ Maria?"

            Wake suddenly burst out laughing, causing Scarlet to look up as he returned his Quagsire. "It seems the undertow has pulled me under, but I had a great time battling you!"

            "And the same goes for you!" Maria replied, grinning. "I haven't been pushed this hard in a while!"

            Wake laughed again. "Well, good! Perhaps you'll be able to make use of this." He tossed her two items -- one was clearly a Badge, but the other was a disk -- probably a TM. "That's Brine. Use it on that Prinplup I've been hearing so much about, if he hasn't learned it already!"

            Maria gave Wake a salute in response, grinning, then turned and started for the exit, motioning for Scarlet to follow after her. The Ranger was quick to get out of the Gym Leader's sight.

            "What is it with Trainers being so eccentric?" Scarlet asked as they walked into the Pokemon Center.

            "Eccentric?" Maria tried to look innocent. "I have no idea what you mean."

            "You know exactly what I mean! Like that Gym Leader back there!"

            Maria blinked at that, only for an expression of understanding to come across her face. "Oh. You're talking about how he acted, right? Well, that's just how some people are, you know. I'm sure you know some people who can be a bit crazy or scatterbrained, too."

            Scarlet's mind instantly went to Professor Hastings while Maria handed her PokeBalls over to Nurse Joy. "Well, I do know _one,_ but he's always been like that."

            "Exactly." Maria leaned against the counter. "But he's good at doing what he does, right?"

            Scarlet nodded.

            "Then his eccentricities are useful." Maria grinned. "I wonder how well Wake and a Gym Leader in Hoenn would get along. They might try to use their different fighting styles against each other in a human match -- I wonder who would come out on top!" She laughed.

            Scarlet looked a little nervous at the idea. "Right...."

            Maria calmed down, but she still grinned widely. "Anyway, we can probably head back to Harthome. Now that I've got all four Badges, we can challenge Fantina, no problem."

            "Probably?" Scarlet frowned.

            "Well, I want to try at the Safari Zone again. I heard someone say that Pokemon from other regions will sometimes sneak in!"

            Scarlet groaned at that. "All right, fine."

            The two left the Pokemon Center with Maria's restored Pokemon and were almost to the Safari Zone when they heard, then saw, a Galactic goon crouching behind the entrance's sign, muttering something. Maria and Scarlet exchanged looks before moving in closer to hear what it was that the goon was saying.

            "O.K., so I've got to deliver this to the lake, and no booboos like wandering off into the Great Marsh!" He laughed to himself, then paused and turned sharply. "You were eavesdropping while I was talking to myself!" he accused.

            Maria shrugged. "You were talking loud enough to be heard from the Cerulean Cave in Kanto, dumdum."

            Scarlet couldn't help but smirk at that.

            "If I weren't in such a hurry, I'd pulverize you with my Pokemon," the grunt growled. "But I have to get to the lake ASAP, so don't follow me!" The grunt then dashed out from behind the sign and ran for the gate leading back the way that Maria and Scarlet had come a little while ago.

            Maria and Scarlet exchanged looks.

            "We need to follow him," Scarlet said, frowning.

            Maria nodded in agreement. "Let's go!"

            The duo ran over to the gate, where the grunt stood, thinking aloud and saying something about his boss' plans to create a new world.

            "Create a new world?!" Maria barked. "Plenty of people have tried that the wrong way already! I'm not going to have you doing the same thing!"

            The grunt yelped when he heard Maria's voice, then yelled, "Don't follow me!" and ran through the gate.

            Maria and Scarlet would have followed after him, but Maria practically slammed nose-first into a yellow-haired boy wearing an orange-and-white striped shirt and a green scarf.

            "Hey, Maria!" he greeted. "How have you been doing?"

            "Fine, Barry." Maria frowned, her voice filling with annoyance.

            Scarlet blinked at Maria's response. _So, this is her rival. What bad timing._

"Have you been buffing up your Pokemon?"

            "Yes I have been, Barry."

            "Well, then let me test you out!"

            Scarlet wisely took a step back as Barry sent out a Starly, only to be taken out in one hit by Sparks. Then his Ponyta was taken out by Prinplup, a Grotle by Star, and a Buizel was taken out by Sparks again.

            Barry let out a nervous chuckle as he returned the Buizel. "Maybe you did get tougher since last time. That actually shocked me a bit, so, yeah, I was careless."

            "Actually, I can tell you care about your Pokemon a lot by your battle style," Scarlet corrected.

            Barry looked at me in surprise. "Uh, thanks. What in the name of Celebi are you? Some Pokemon that Maria found by accident?"

            "No. The name's Scarlet; I'm a Pokemon Ranger who got turned into a PokeMorph by some Team Galactic idiot."

            "The name's Barry, and...aren't PokeMorphs supposed to be extinct?"

            "Not anymore," Maria replied matter-of-factly. "Now, if you'll excuse us, I've got a Galactic goon to hunt down."

            Barry nodded. "Sure, sure. See ya around!" With that, he took off through the gate.

            "Has he always been like that?" Scarlet asked.

            Maria sighed. "Ever since the day he was born, according to his mom." She shook her head and gained a determined expression. "Come on; we've got a goon to stop."

            "Right."

            The duo promptly ran through the gate, hoping to catch up with the grunt before he managed to get too far ahead of them. Much to their surprise, they found him standing on the beach in front of the resort staring at the sea...and a rather odd-looking package in his hands.

            "I still can't believe this thing was made by the boss," the grunt spoke aloud. "He must be some kind of genius or something."

            "I'll be the judge of that!" Maria replied, as she and Scarlet ran over, hoping to corner the grunt.

            "Gah!" the grunt jumped and scrambled into the resort. "I'm tired of you running after me, but I'm not going to waste energy fighting you!"

            "Come on!" Maria turned, kicking up sand and running up into the resort. Scarlet followed after her, keeping pace and deciding against relying on her superspeed when there were possibly so many other people around.

            They caught up with him a short distance away from the restaurant that Maria had been thinking about going into earlier.

            "You know what, why am I running?" the grunt asked aloud.

            "You tell me," Maria replied, startling the grunt. "What's in the package?"

            The grunt clutched the package close to his chest. "It's something that will help us make an entirely new universe!" He turned and rushed off before Maria could have grabbed him, and she moved to run after him.

            "You'd better not be thinking of pulling a Hoenn Disaster on me!" Maria snapped.

            "Hoenn Disaster?!" The grunt turned around sharply, glaring at Maria. "Don't compare us to those fools! Glameow, show this girl some manners!"

            "Machop!" Maria released her Fighting-Type, who instantly knocked the cat out in one hit. "Give me that thing before you do who knows what with it, you creep!"

            "Never!" the grunt responded. He then turned and ran into the trees, disappearing from sight.

            Maria ran up to the treeline, glaring into them as though she could see where it was that the Galactic grunt had gone. She then slammed a fist into a trunk. "Moltres' tailfeathers! We lost him!"

            "Oh, dear. I'd hoped that I'd be able to find you in a better mood than this."

            Scarlet and Maria turned when they heard the familiar voice.

            "Cynthia!" Maria exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

            "Well, I wanted to check in on you and see how your PokeDex was filling up, but it seems there is something els going on here." Cynthia frowned at the trees that Maria had been glaring into before. "This area surrounds one of this region's three lakes, but it seems that it isn't open to the public right now. I'd hoped to do some research here into the folklore, but it seems that will have to wait until another time."

            Scarlet blinked in confusion while Maria frowned.

            "I'm sorry, I don't know anything about what you're talking about," the Ranger said. "Would you mind...?"

            "Maria?" Cynthia looked at the Trainer, amused.

            Maria blinked at the Champion saying her name, then gave a nod before she looked at Scarlet. "Sinnoh has three lakes called Verity, Valor, and Acuity. There's said to be an island hiding inside each of them, and inside those islands is said to be a mirage of a Pokemon."

            Cynthia nodded while Scarlet frowned.

            "A mirage, huh?" Scarlet looked at the Champion. "Do you think they're involved in me being a PokeMorph somehow?"

            "Perhaps, but I won't be able to know until I do more research." She paused. "Speaking of research, there's a town that's steeped in history to the north of Solaceon, but the path has been blocked recently by a group of Psyduck. I can't travel up there myself right now, but would you be willing to take a SecretPotion to the Psyduck and go up there on your own? Let the head elder know that I was the one who sent you up there; she might be able to help."

            "You think so?" Maria cocked her head to one side curiously. At Cynthia's nod, Maria nodded. "Okay; we'll do it."

            "Thank you." Cynthia handed Maria a small back, gave her a smile, then turned and walked off into the trees, disappearing from sight.

            Maria grabbed a PokeBall and released Star. "Come on; let's fly to Solaceon."

            "Are you sure that Staravia can carry the both of us?" Scarlet asked, raising an eyebrow.

            "Sure! We may not be able to Soar like you Rangers can, but Fly can make Pokemon stronger than they normally are in order to get people from one place to the other." Maria grinned. "I know of some people who taught _Doduo_ how to Fly. Come on!"

            Scarlet was a little hesitant at Maria's words, but then she nodded and gripped Maria's hand tightly as they somehow managed to climb onto Star's back.

            In an instant, they were back in Solaceon.

            Scarlet stumbled off Star's back while Maria slipped off with practiced ease. "That felt a lot more like teleporting than anything else."

            "I know, but that was a short trip." Maria returned Star to her PokeBall. "Longer trips -- like across entire regions -- can take much longer than that." She pulled out her bike. "I think I remember seeing a group of Psyduck near the Moomoo Milk Cafe."

            Maria and Scarlet quickly moved to the route north of Solaceon, and as soon as they reached the cafe, Maria stopped again and pointed to the left of the cafe.

            "There's the Psyduck!" Maria reached into her bag for the SecretPotion. "Okay; let's see if this works." She reached into the small bag and started pulling out pellets and dropped them into each of the Psyducks' mouths, causing them to blink one by one, then wander off into the grass and trees.

            "How is that a potion if they're pills?" Scarlet asked, frowning.

            Maria shrugged. "You'd have to ask the guy in Cianwood in Jhoto who invented it. I don't know how to make this kind of thing."

            "Oh! I was wondering if I'd be able to catch you before you went to Celestic Town."

            Maria and Scarlet turned in surprise.

            "Cynthia?" Maria blinked. "But...we just ran into you near Pastoria. Didn't you say you were busy?"

            "I'd nearly forgotten to give you something," Cynthia explained. "Ah, I see you used the SecretPotion I gave you. Those Psyduck had been suffering from a chronic headache for some time, and no one's known what made it trigger to make them block the path like that."

            "Murph back at the Ranger Union thinks it's because they can sense when something bad's going to happen," Scarlet said, frowning.

            Cynthia looked at me. "Perhaps." She looked back at Maria. "Do you mind if I ask you to do a favor?"

            "Not at all," Maria replied, shrugging.

            "I want you to deliver this Old Charm to my grandmother in Celestic Town. There are some rare Pokemon between here and there, so it should be worth your time."

            "Sure, we'll go," Maria replied, accepting the charm.

            She put it into her backpack as Cynthia continued, "My grandmother has this sort of bossy atmosphere about her. I think you'll recognize her right away. She is, after all, the elder of Celestic Town. I'm counting on you two!" With that, the Sinnoh champ walked down the route, leaving Maria and Scarlet alone again.

            Maria looked at Scarlet. "Well, we'd better get going." She nodded to the now unblocked route. "Hopefully, Celestic Town does have something that'll be able to help."

            Scarlet nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's go."


	14. Chapter 14

            Sonic looked around at the city, observing the differences between Jubilife and mentally comparing them to the past.

            "This place looks more nature-loving than Station Square ever was," the hedgehog remarked. "That place was all tech."

            Tails nodded, also reviving the memory. "They has the best facilities to experiment and build stuff in."

            "Was your world like that all over?" Paul asked. He had managed to get up to Level 12 during the training session on the way, and he now knew Tackle, Sand-Attack, and Gust. Paul's Speed had also increased a large amount, too. It wouldn't be long before he would be nothing more than a brown blur in battle.

            "Not all over," Sonic admitted. "We had our forests and deserts, too. Any place you could think of, really. But, like I said before, there were some places that were more tech-filled than others. That could be considered a good thing or a bad thing, depending on who put the tech there in the first place."

            "What do you mean by that, Sonic?" Brendan asked, curious.

            "Like you guys have your teams of villains, we had ours, only there was usually one bad guy at a time that we had to deal with," Tails explained. "His name was Julian Ivo Robotnik, but we took to the habit of calling him Eggman."

            "Eggman?" Black repeated. "What kind of name is that?"

            "We called him that because he was shaped like an egg, if that makes any sense," Knuckles stated calmly. Vent was standing beside him, looking a little more confident in his abilities. The little Fighting-Type, thanks to Knuckles' start at training, was at Level 14, and now knew Quick Attack, Foresight, Counter, and Force Palm. His Attack was up pretty high, too. As for Tails, Gear had managed to get up to Level 11, and it now knew ViceGrip, Charge, and ThunderShock, and its Defense was its high stat, seeing as it was a Steel-Type.

            "He had an IQ of 300," Tails added, "but he no match for us. Those robots of his, though they kept getting stronger, were easily destroyed, no matter the plan he came up with." He looked at Sonic. "You remember the last fight we had?"

            "You mean the one the news called the 'Mecha Sally Saga'?" Sonic asked. "How could I forget? My girlfriend got robotosized, remember?"

            "Robotosized?" Kate repeated, frowning. "What's that?"

            "It's an invention Eggman messed around with," Sonic explained. "It turns Mobians into robots that only listen to him. It's possible to reverse the process, but it's really dangerous in some cases."

            "What exactly happens when you undergo this transformation?" Rowan inquired.

            Sonic shot him a look. "Your whole body gets turned into one hundred percent metal, even your internal organs. After that, ya gotta survive on 10-W-40 until your parts rust, or someone actually manages to turn you back. To Mobians, it's a living nightmare to get turned into one by Eggman, especially if you can actually see what he's ordering you to do."

            Noticing the confused looks on the humans' faces, Tails explained calmly, "Sonic got robotosized early on in our battle against Robutnik. His mind was protected by the Chaos Energy found in Power Rings, so all we had to do was access that power and change him back. However, he destroyed most of our base of operations before we did. Knuckles had to undergo the transformation myself in order to take him out."

            "Having the new powers was pleasant, but being flesh and blood has better perks," Knuckles stated.

            "You said it," Sonic agreed.

            Just then, there was the sound of something ringing. Rowan pulled out a white little device and pressed a few buttons. "Greetings, Lucas," he said. "Where are you calling from?"

            _::I'm in Pastoria right now, going through the Great Marsh::_ came the reply from the device. _::Maria and Barry have already gone through here, and Maria's probably gone back to Harthome to battle Fantina by now. Barry's probably already on his way to Canalave, if he's as fast on the water as he is on his feet! I mean, what takes us an hour to get to takes him fifteen minutes, if you know what I mean::_

            "Yes, I do know what you mean," Rowan confirmed. "I'm in Jubilife now, and we're about to get on the ferry to Canalave."

            Sonic let out a little shudder at the thought of all that water.

            _::O.K., then. I'll be heading over there on my Staravia within a few minutes; I just need to wash off all this mud and I'll be on my way. I'll see you when I get there!::_ There was a click as the person on the other end hung up.

            Noticing the Mobians' stares, Rowan explained, "This is a PokeGear, designed for calls between Trainers or Professors, depending on the model."

            "Almost sounds like a cell phone from the time of the humans before us," Tails remarked. "Or the wrist communicators that I had started to make back at home."

            "Or upgrade, in my case," Sonic stated. "I remember having one a few years back."

            "Yeah; during the Nocturnus Clan problem, near the end of the Saga," Knuckles recalled. He shook his head sadly. "Too bad we had to leave Nestor behind like that."

            "I think he went mad after we showed him that last Precursor Tablet," Sonic remembered. "If we were to bring him along, he would've been useless to us. At least Rouge found someone else to have a crush on. What was his name again?"

            "I think it was Beryl, after the jewel," Tails remarked.

            Sonic snapped his fingers. "Yeah, that's him!"

            "Who are you talking about?" Kellyn demanded. "None of these names make sense to me."

            "Just some old friends," Knuckles said in passing. "We'll explain more when we get to Canalave. That way, I won't have to say anything twice."

            "The name Nocturnus sounds creepy," Vent remarked. "What were these creatures like?"

            "Tough, what with all the tech they had on them," Sonic muttered quietly. "And you wouldn't believe the other kinds of creatures we found in the Twilight Cage. There was one that looked like green slugs, another that looked like giant rocks, and a third that could control your mind if they wanted to!"

            "Sounds like some of the Pokemon in this world," Gear said.

            "That may be, but they weren't anything like you guys, I can tell you that."

            The group approached a gate leading out of Jubilife to the east, only to find it blocked by three Galactic grunts, who, oddly enough, had their backs turned to the group.

            "Just our luck," Brendan muttered. He put his hand on the PokeBall containing Pine, but Rowan put a hand on his arm.

            "Let them try," the Pokemon Professor told the Hoenn Trainer. He motioned to the Mobians, who had already gotten in front of them.

            "All right, Paul," Sonic growled. "Ready?"

            "Ready!" The Pidgey's feather's puffed up a little to make him look bigger.

            The goons with the green hair took note of the the Mobians, but didn't turn to look in their direction.

            "Buzz off, kids; we're not in the mood," one of them said without glancing back.

            "Then why are you in the way?" Knuckles asked, cracking his namesakes. "You look like you're ready for a fight to me."

            The grunt still didn't move. "We're supposed to be here, because we have to keep Rowan from leaving this area."

            Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic exchanged looks that translated as, "Are these guys for real?"

            "And why is that?" Tails inquired.

            "Because he won't give us his papers on Pokemon Evolution," the goon replied sourly.

            "Is that it?" Sonic suppressed a laugh. "Man, for bad guys, you have some pretty lousy excuses."

            That got a reaction.

            The grunts turned around to glare at the Mobians, obviously expecting some smart-mouthed kids who were in need of a beating. However, as soon as they laid their eyes on Sonic and the others, their eyes widened and their jaws dropped.

            "PokeMorphs!" the only female of the group exclaimed.

            "We're Mobians, dummy," Knuckles growled. "Vent, get ready."

            "Oh, I'm ready!" Vent replied. "These look like the guys who took Mom and Dad."

            Paul and Sonic exchanged glances, then got into battle stance. So did Tails and Gear.

            The grunt who had conversed with them smirked. "You think you can stop us? Go, Croagunk!" He threw a PokeBall, releasing the Poison/Fighting-Type.

            The other two followed suit. "Go, Zubat!" "Go, Glameow!"

            Sonic saw the Croagunk shudder when it saw Paul. "Paul, we're aiming for that Croagunk. Gust it!"

            "You got it!" Paul whipped up a small tornado of wind that blew the weird-looking Pokemon into a nearby wall. It staggered back up, looking a little woozy.

            "Gear, use ThunderShock on that bat!" Tails ordered.

            "One super effective move, coming up!" Gear charged itself up quickly and zapped the Zubat. It fell to the ground, sparks flying off it.

            "Vent, Force Palm," Knuckles stated calmly.

            "Right," Vent replied. He ran forward and forced the Glameow back with a powerful push with the palm of his hand, a lot like Knuckles could. The cat, like Zubat, also started to shoot off sparks.

            "Rattatas!" the girl goon growled. "Glameow's paralyzed!"

            "So is Zubat," one of the male grunts added.

            "Croagunk, use Drain Punch on that Riolu," the other male grunt said through gritted teeth.

            "Use Quick Attack to dodge it," Knuckles stated.

            Vent zipped around the Croagunk.

            "Now, Force Palm from behind!"

            The Croagunk was thrust against another wall, where it fell down, fainted.

            "Nice!" Paul told Vent.

            "Paul, keep your focus!" Sonic warned. "We've still got two left! Take out that cat!"

            "Gear, Vicegrip the bat!" Tails called out.

            And the last two Pokemon fell in quick succession.

            Tails let out a sigh of relief. "Whoo! I didn't think it was going to feel that intense!"

            Sonic gained a wide grin. "Nice job, buddy!"

            Paul flew up and gave Sonic a high-five with his wing. "You're really getting the hang of being a Trainer."

            "Thanks," Sonic replied. "But there's no way I'm going to let go of my other abilities, though. My speed is something I do not want to part with."

            Tails and Knuckles chuckled. They knew how much the hedgehog liked his speed.

            The three goons returned their Pokemon, glaring at the Mobians who had managed to take their own Pokemon out. After a moment, the one with the Croagunk recovered from the shock of the battle and gained a sinister grin that Sonic didn't even bat an eye at.

            Instead, he yawned. "Man, your grin's has got nothing on Eggman's when he's in a _good_ mood."

            The grunt snarled something in response and lunged at Sonic, only for the hedgehog to quickly sidestep. Before the grunt knew what was going on, he's slammed into Pine, who was standing in front of a grinning Brendan.

            "All right, Pine," Brendan said. "Knock him out."

            Pine slammed a fist down on the grunt's head, knocking him out easily.

            The two grunts stared at the group for a moment, then scattered in different directions.

            "Well, that was easy," Sonic remarked, smirking.

            "But we've blown your cover," Black pointed out. "This place is probably going to be swarming with those green-haired idiots within the hour."

            "Then we'd better get going," Knuckles remarked. He looked over at Vent, who was looking down at a PokeBall lying on the pavement -- obviously, it'd been left behind when the grunts had scattered.

            Tails walked over and picked up the PokeBall, then looked down at the Riolu. "Is this...?"

            Vent nodded.

            "Okay." Tails looked at the PokeBall, then pointed it away from himself and pressed the white button in the center.

            Instantly, the sphere popped open, releasing a white light that took the form of a large Pokemon that looked similar to Vent, only this particular Pokemon had white fur and spikes on the backs of its paws and its chest.

            "No way..." Brendan murmured. "That's a Lucario!"

            Vent looked back at him. "That's not just any Lucario," he stated. "That's my mom." He looked back at the Pokemon and ran at her, hugging her around the waist. His mom hugged him back.

            The Lucario looked over at Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. "Which one of you has been training my son?"

            Sonic pointed at Knuckles and carefully stepped away from him. Far be it from him to get in the way of a mother! "Knuckles trained him. I've seen him working on stuff with him, but I'm not sure _what_ he's got planned."

            The Lucario cocked her head, looking Knuckles over with curious red eyes. When she spoke again, her voice was a little different.

            _"My name is Lucia. What sort of things are you planning on teaching my son?"_

            Sonic stiffened a little when he heard the Lucario's -- Lucia, apparently -- voice echoing in his head. He looked around in order to see if the others were reacting the same way, and noticed that the humans didn't seem quite as surprised as he, Knuckles, and Tails were.

                        "I-I'm planning on teaching him how to use Chaos Energy," Knuckles explained, quickly getting over his surprise. "As I told Vent, he has a lot of potential."

            _"The strange power of legend that only a few could use? Are you willing to pass along such information?"_

            "I am, Lucia," Knuckles confirmed. "I am the Guardian of the Master Emerald; I am allowed to use and teach such things."

            Lucia's eyes widened. _"In all my years as a Guardian of the Aura, I have only heard of you, Guardian of the Master Emerald. It would be an honor, if you would train Vent. Just, please, show me what you speak of. Chaos Energy is only spoken of in legend in this time."_

            Knuckles nodded, closed his eyes, and concentrated on opening up his connection with the Chaos Energy. A moment later, a spear formed in his hand. Everyone's eyes were on him as he tossed it over to a nearby dumpster, which instantly exploded, sending trash flying everywhere.

            "Wow," Vent murmured. "I have _got_ to learn that."

            "It takes practice," Sonic told him. " _Lots_ of practice. I've been using Chaos Energy for _years_ , and right now, I can only do Chaos Control and the Super transformation when I have all seven Chaos Emeralds. The only hedgehog I've seen do what Knuckles just did there is Shadow, and he's not even a Guardian!"

            Lucia nodded. _"I have heard of such things, PokeMorph. I place my son's care in your hands, Knuckles."_ She looked at Brendan, Black, Kate, and Kellyn. _"All the same, I wish to stay near my son. I request that one of you take me on as one of your Pokemon. When we find my husband, another can take him."_

            Kate stepped forward. "I'd be more than happy to accept you as my Pokemon Partner, Lucia, if you'll let me."

            Lucia cocked her head, looking the Ranger over. _"Hmm... You have a good heart, child. I shall become your Partner."_ She looked at Tails. _"If you would, please crush the PokeBall. Rangers do not use them."_

            Tails nodded, placing the PokeBall on the ground. Then he crushed it with his foot. "There; it's done."

            Lucia nodded. She looked down at Vent, who quickly backed away. Kate whipped out her Styler.

            "Ready when you are," the Ranger said.

            Lucia let out a roar and ran at her. Sonic and the other Mobians had to get out of the way, or else they would've been trampled.

            Kate threw a blue light in Lucia's direction, and it started to go around her, faster and faster. Then, it bonded with her completely, surrounding her in a bright light before completely fading.

            The Styler beeped. _::Bonding complete. Lucia is now your Pokemon Partner::_

            Vent grinned happily. "Yay! Now we can learn from Knuckles together!"

            Lucia smiled and nodded in agreement.

            "Well, now that we have taken care of that," Rowan said, "we can move on to Canalave. Lucas is probably already there."

            Brendan nodded. "Come on, guys; we don't want to miss the ferry."

            Sonic froze up a little at the word "ferry."

            "It isn't a long trip, I don't think," Tails remarked, looking at Sonic with a concerned expression. "If you start to feel uncomfortable, then Brendan can just send you ahead on his Flygon."

            Sonic nodded, but he still looked tense. Like it or not, to him, that ferry was going to feel like it was going to take forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can tell I /really/ liked using exposition in conversations early on in my writing career with this. Hoo boy.


	15. Chapter 15

**Scarlet's POV**

            I sat in the Pokemon Center in Harthome, watching as Maria was going through her PC Boxes. The Nurse Joy there had mentioned that someone had deposited a Pokemon into the Box System, and they'd ended up in Maria's Boxes for some reason.

            Maria suddenly let out a gasp of surprise. "No way! Mom did do as she had promised!"

            I looked over in the Trainer's direction. "What do you mean by that?"

            Maria grinned back at the me. "You'll see soon enough." She looked back at the computer. "I am _definitely_ going to have him around for this next Gym challenge." She pulled an all-red PokeBall from the PC and shut down its connection to her Box System before turning to face Nurse Joy. "You don't need to worry; the Pokemon was a part of my team before he got into the PC Box. Mom probably moved him there."

            Nurse Joy nodded. "I see. And I suppose you have others?"

            "Oh, yeah -- hundreds. But they're all at home until I beat more Gym Leaders, beat the Elite Four, or in case of an emergency. This guy is just the first part of a major migration." Maria held up the red PokeBall and grinned.

            I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

            "Mom told me that, after I had defeated the Elite Four, she would start to send me Pokemon to help complete Professor Rowan's PokeDex," Maria explained. "Once the migration's complete, I can show the Trainers around here the REAL power that a Pokemon can have." She grinned mischievously. "Then I can train up my Sinnoh Pokemon as much as I want, and against any enemy. They're going to grow up fast."

            I nodded absently, my thoughts wandering back to what had happened back in Celestic Town a couple hours before...

            After we had stopped a Galactic goon from blowing up the ruins in the town, as well as given Cynthia's grandmother -- the head elder -- the Old Charm, Maria and I decided to explore the ruins ourselves.

            Inside, the walls we covered with carvings of all sorts. Maria had started pointing ones out that she was familiar with: a spiky blue figure fighting a golem piloted by an egg, a red creature with dreadlocks guarding a giant green jewel in a shrine, a yellow creature with two tails flying in some sort of biplane. In the center of the back wall wall were three creatures that had some of the physical characteristics of the other figures: one had dreadlocks, another had three spikes, and all three had two tails. In the center was some sort of shining sphere.

            Cynthia's grandmother, who had followed us in, stated that some thought they represented the Lake Spirits, and the sphere was represented the Pokemon that created them. However, they could represent other beings, such as the beings of time, space, and some world opposite of ours, or even the PokeMorphs shown in the carvings.

            Maria and I disagreed with her on that last one.

            After we had stared at the carvings for a while longer, Maria went outside while I talked to the "wise woman" about PokeMorphs. She did believe that they had existed, but she doubted that they had actually lived on this world as natives, but rather immigrants who had left many years ago. Aliens? Really? The only creature that came from out of space was Deoxys; there isn't anything else out there.

            While I was thinking about Celestic Town's events, Maria was back at the PC, considering whether or not to add Pokemon from the other regions to her party, placing others that were presently there back in the process.

            "You ready to go?" she asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

            I looked up, taking note of the large grins on Maria's face, as well as the Pokemon that was floating next to her. It was pretty small, had a head shaped like part of a star, and it had some streamers coming out from behind.

            At first, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

            I pointed at the star-shaped Pokemon. "Is that what I think it is?" I asked.

            Maria's grin got wider. "If you're referring to Jirachi, then yes."

            _"Hi!"_ The little Legendary waved at me.

            "Did it just -"

_"Speak to you using telepathy? Yup! All the Legendaries can, if they set their minds to it. Are you a PokeMorph?"_

            Startled by the sudden change of topic (and that he sounds like a six-year-old), I replied, "Yes, and no."

            Jirachi looked a little curious. _"I sense that you have memories of a human...yet you are a PokeMorph by all physical appearances. Is that what you mean by yes and no?"_

I nodded. "I've heard that you are able to grant wishes..."

            Jirachi seemed to know where I was going with this, and he shook his head. _"I'm sorry, but that bit about me being able to grant wishes only goes so far. I can summon candy, or ask for assistance, but I can't reverse the process that turned you into this. Maybe a Legendary of a higher power than me can do what you ask."_

            I nodded. "You helped, anyway. If there are other Legendaries who have an ability stronger than yours, then there's still a chance for me to be normal again."

            Maria smiled at me. "That's the spirit, Scarlet. Come on, guys; the Harthome Gym awaits!"

            We went over the Gym, where we had to go up an elevator as soon as we'd stepped inside.

            On the next floor, there was a signpost with a question written on it: _"What is five plus three plus seven?"_

            "That's easy," Maria remarked. "Fifteen."

            The number she stated pointed to the door to the right of us, but Maria decided to go to the door to our left instead. Beyond the door was a Youngster Trainer.

            "Don't you have a Poketetch?" the boy asked as he released his Gastly and Haunter from their PokeBalls. "Or are you doing this on purpose?"

            "On purpose," Maria replied with a grin.

            She quickly clobbered his Pokemon with her own, then moved onto the next room. She kept doing this until some of the Trainers past the incorrect doors had been defeated. Then there was another long elevator ride, leading up to...Fantina, who was wearing the same purple dress that we'd seen her in a few days.

            The Gym Leader let out a loud laugh. "Finally, you have arrived. As a newcomer to this country, I have always tried to learn new things. That is why I dress this way! I excel in ze Contests! Also, I have studied Pokemon in order to become a Gym Leader."

            "And I, as a Trainer, have come to defeat you," Maria stated calmly.

            "But you shall be defeated by moi! That is what a Gym Leader does, non?"

            "In some cases," Maria admitted, readying Sparks' PokeBall. "But not this time. Go, Sparks!"

            As the Luxio came out of her PokeBall, I kind of wondered what Maria meant by that. Had she lost to Gym Leaders before?

            "Go, my Drifblim!" Fantina exclaimed, releasing a Pokemon that looked like a hot air balloon.

            The battle promptly degraded into a shouting match between Maria and Fantina as Maria tried to direct Sparks to hit Drifblim as the opponent Pokemon used Minimize multiple times over.

            "Stop shrinking already!" Maria barked in annoyance when Sparks' attack missed again.

            Fantina huffed. "Fine! Gust!"

            See what I mean about the shouting match?

            Eventually, the Drifblim was taken out, leaving Sparks exhausted, but pleased.

            Only for Fantina's Mismagius to take him out.

            Maria smirked -- and definitely didn't look like a very _nice_ smirk. "Jirachi, I summon thee!"

            My eyebrows shot up as Fantina visibly paled. "Jirachi? You have ze Legendary?"

            Jirachi waved at the Gym Leader. _"Hiya! I've come to beat your Pokemon."_

I chuckled at the Legendary's statement. He really _was_ like a little kid.

            "Zen Headbutt!" Maria ordered.

_"Right!"_ Jirachi focused, then flew forward, ramming into the Mismagius and sending her flying.

            "Ze Shadow Ball!" Fantina ordered.

            "Circle around and hit her again!"

            _"Whee! This is fun!"_ Jirachi rammed into Mismagius again, and the ghost collapsed.

            Fantina now really looked frazzled. "Oh, Gengar! Come out!"

            Maria pointed -- rather dramatically, I think -- at the Ghost/Poison-Type that Fantina had just brought out. "Psychic!"

            And the Gengar fell to the ground with a dull _whump._ I blinked at the sound, thinking that I hadn't _thought_ ghosts could make any noise when hitting against something more solid than them.

            As Fantina returned Gengar to its PokeBall, she exclaimed, "I am dumbfounded! You and your Pokemon are very strong!"

            "Oh, this is nothing compared to my other friends," Maria remarked with a grin.

            "Still, your power is admirable. Take this Gym Badge."

            As Maria placed the badge in her Trainer case, Fantina stated, "That should allow you to use Surf out of battle. Also, you could make use of this; that is what I think." She handed Maria a disk. "That is Shadow Claw. A very startling move it is. It gets critical hits often!"

            Maria smiled. "Thank you. I enjoyed our battle immensely, Fantina."

            "As did I. I'm afraid you'll have to go back out the way you came in - I've been trying to have a warp panel system installed, but no one has been able to so far."

            Maria shrugged. "That's all right. Come on, guys."

            As we were leaving the Gym, Cynthia suddenly appeared out of nowhere -- again. I don't think that I'd ever get used to people appearing like that out of nowhere.

            "I'm so glad to see you!" the Sinnoh Champion greeted cheerily.

            "The same to you!" Maria replied.

            "You're not very easy to track down," Cynthia told us. "My grandmother told me about what had happened in Celestic Town. Thanks for what you did in the ruins!"

            "It was the least I could do," Maria explained. "That Galactic grunt had no right to destroy a piece of history."

            Cynthia nodded. "That Team Galactic...I thought they were just an eccentric bunch of freaks...you know, talking about how they were going to make a new universe and all. And that way they dress, too. I thought they were harmless. It appears as if they're a lot more trouble than I thought...I mean, stealing and hoarding Pokemon...That's just plain wrong."

            "They're about level with Dim Sun right now," I remarked.

            Cynthia looked at me. "By the way, did you find the ruins interesting at all?"

            "It was interesting to see all the PokeMorph carvings on the wall," I admitted. "but there wasn't anything else up there."

            "Your grandmother had some...interesting things to say about them, too, but I'm not entirely sure that I should take her words into account for some of it," Maria added.

            "Yes, some of her theories are...certainly out there," Cynthia admitted. "Perhaps it might be a good idea to visit the library in Canalave. They have some ancient books that you might find interesting. Going there could also help you complete your PokeDex."

            "And get one step closer to the Pokemon League, since there's a Gym there," Maria added. "I was planning on going there anyway."

            Cynthia smiled. "Well, all right, then. Bye-bye for now!" She then left for who knows where.

            I smirked at Maria. "Well, we'd better get going, if that library might have the key to turning me back."

            Maria nodded. "Right. I'm glad I got Surf from Cynthia's grandmother. Now we can go to Canalave without any trouble. We're going to have to fly to Jubilife first, though." She released Star from her PokeBall. "Let's go!"


	16. Chapter 16

            Sonic stared at Paul as the Pokemon started glowing.

            The two had been running around on the outskirts of Canalave, training against the wild miming Pokemon referred to as Mr. Mime, and the occasional Water-Type that lived in the area. Sonic, who had been tag-teaming them to help lower the level difference so that Paul could get a hit in and not actually faint, was glad he wasn't on the ferry and was standing on solid ground, even if it was an island.

            "Paul, what's happening to you?" Sonic asked, a little panicked as the Pidgey started to increase in size. "Is this what the Prof meant by evolving?"

            The light suddenly brightened, then scattered as little spheres, which went off in all directions. Where a Pidgey had been standing, a different bird now stood. He came up to about Sonic's shoulder, and it had the same sort of color scheme as a Pidgey, only now it had long, red feathers flowing down its back like it was hair, and its tail was a pattern of red and yellow feathers.

            "Paul?" Sonic asked.

            The bird looked at him, took note of the hedgehog's confused look, and grinned. "Don't look at me like that! All I did was evolve into a Pidgeotto!"

            Sonic walked around the Pokemon. "So, are you fully grown, now?" he asked.

            Paul shook his head. "I'm going to evolve again at Level 36. Right now, I guess you could say that I'm a teenager in human years."

            Sonic smirked. "Then you'd technically be about as old as I am. Come on; let's show the rest of the gang."

            The two went into the city and headed for the Pokemon Center, where Professor Rowan was staying until his three Dex Holders, Lucas, Barry, and Maria, had entered the city.

            As the two of them entered the Center, Sonic and Paul skidded to a halt when they saw a boy with a red hat talking to the Prof, who had a moving bulge in his jacket. Beside the boy was some sort of monkey with a flame coming out of its tail, and some sort of weird wrestling mask on its face. The group turned to look in their direction, the boy and his monkey with looks of surprise.

            "Lucas, this is Sonic," Rowan introduced. "The Pigeotto is Paul, I'm guessing?"

            Sonic nodded smirking. "Yup; he just evolved not too long ago."

            Paul grinned, proudly opening up his wings to show off his new form. "In about 18 more levels, I'll be a Pidgeot!"

            "So, that's what your last form's called?" Sonic grinned. "Pidgeot?"

            Paul nodded happily.

            Lucas looked at the two of them, a confused look on his face. "How is it that you can understand him, Sonic?" he asked.

            "I've got this device wired to my brain," Sonic explained, tapping his head. "It lets me understand the languages of aliens, as well as the animals that live on this planet. That includes Pokemon."

            "So, you can understand me?" the monkey asked.

            Sonic nodded. "What kind of Pokemon are you, anyway?"

            "I'm a Monferno, and the name's FlameBurst." The flame on the end of his tail increased in size a little. "Lucas, my Trainer, just calls me Monferno, though."

            "FlameBurst," Sonic repeated. "I'll keep that in mind." I looked back at Professor Rowan. "Where are the others?"

            "I believe that Tails is in the library with Gear, and Knuckles is with Vent, training," Rowan replied. He looked at Lucas. "I suppose you want to meet them, as well?"

            Lucas nodded. "I'd really like to. Do you think Barry and Maria are here yet?"

            The prof shrugged. "That depends on whether or not they go to the Gym first. They'll meet with us sooner or later."

            As though Lucas had said the magic words, Barry burst into the Pokemon Center and nearly ran into the counter before he handed his PokeBalls over to Nurse Joy. Then he turned and zeroed in on Lucas.

            "Hey, Luke! Didn't expect to see you here," the boy said.

            Lucas looked a little annoyed. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that, Barry."

            Sonic watched the new boy with interest. "So that's Barry, huh? I wonder what Maria's like."

            Paul bobbed his head in agreement.

            Barry let out a short laugh. "Lucas is just too long a name for me to say. You know that."

            "What about my name?"

            Barry started looking around for the source of the voice, frowning.

            "Over here, blondie," Sonic spoke up again, pointing at himself.

            Barry jumped back in surprise. "Holy Magikarp! You can talk!"

            "Of course I can talk! What do you think I am, mute or something?"

            Barry quickly got over his surprise and pulled out a PokeBall. "What kind of Pokemon are you?" he demanded.

            "I'm not a Pokemon, I'm a Mobian," Sonic replied. "I've heard people call me a PokeMorph too, though."

            "I'm not a Pokemon, I'm a Mobian," I replied calmly. "Or, would you prefer PokeMorph?"

            Barry's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious! PokeMorphs are extinct!" He frowned. "Well, except for that one..."

            "Then how could I be standing right in front of you?" Sonic asked, frowning. He wondered if Barry had already run into Maria and Scarlet.

            Barry looked Sonic over, then moved closer and poked him in the arm, testing the hedgehog's statement. When Sonic didn't vanish from the face of the earth, Barry looked him in the eye. "What's your name, PokeMorph?"

            "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic replied with a grin. "Everybody calls me just Sonic, though."

            "Sonic?" Barry repeated. "What kind of a name is _that?"_

            "I'll show you." Sonic grabbed Barry's arm and started heading for the door. "Come on, Paul; let's see if you can keep up. One lap around Canalave at top speed!"

            "You're on!" Paul replied with a grin.

            Sonic quickly adjusted Barry so that the boy was hanging onto him, and as soon as he got away from the Pokemon Center's entrance, the hedgehog took off, Paul following after him in one quick lap around the city. It definitely wasn't top speed, but Sonic did go fast enough that we went around the city in under two minutes. Paul was probably about a minute behind him, riding on the current of air that Sonic had left behind.

            When they got back to the Pokemon Center, Barry was out of breath in surprise at Sonic speed. Paul was out of breath, too, but he was just exhausted from flying so fast.

            "Wow!" Barry finally managed. "That was fast!"

            "That was nothing." Sonic grinned. "We didn't even break the sound barrier this time."

            Barry and Paul both stared at Sonic, like they didn't expect him to be serious.

            Sonic's grin widened. "I'm completely serious, guys. My speed is something that I use every single day. Or almost, depending on whether or not there's a crazed maniac on the loose."

            Lucas looked like he was suddenly hit with an idea. "Hey! Are you the PokeMorph who stopped that water monster in the ancient legends?"

            Sonic looked at Lucas with an expression of surprise. "What, Perfect Chaos?"

            "Uh...maybe? We didn't get a name."

            "Well, that's the only water monster that I know about," Sonic folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah, I did take him on, but I needed to go Super in order to do it."

            "Super?" Lucas frowned. "Is that...like an evolution?"

            "Nah. Super Sonic is what I am when I'm powered up with the Chaos Force -- usually, through the Chaos Emeralds. I turn gold and invincible, and I take down bad guys." Sonic shrugged. "That's it."

            "Chaos Emeralds?" Barry suddenly looked interested. "What are those?"

            Sonic stared at the Trainer, then sighed and shook his head. "Seriously, how is it that no one knows about the Chaos Emeralds around here? Nope, don't answer that. I'll just explain what I know." Sonic looked up at the ceiling of the Pokemon Center, thinking back. "Chaos Emeralds are jewels that might catch some girl's eye, but they're not normal emeralds and they aren't just green. There's dark blue, red, yellow, purple, gray, and cyan, too, and they each have an infinite power source called the Chaos Force. Some people -- like me -- use the Chaos Force for good. Others have only wanted the power because of evil plans - like, say, ruling the world."

            "And you had such people in your time," Rowan stated, nodding as Sonic looked back at them.

            "Yup. The main one was a mechanical genius who was named Robotnik, but everybody called him Eggman because he was shaped like an egg."

            Barry let out a laugh. "That guy doesn't sound like much of a threat."

            "Try saying that when he turns your entire family and pet into robots and sends them after you in order to kill you. He did that to me, and if he was still around, he'd do it to you, too."

            Barry stopped laughing. Lucas gained a wide-eyed expression and turned pale.

            Sonic nodded grimly. "And that's just the tip of the iceberg."

            Rowan's PokeGear suddenly started ringing. He pulled out the white device and put it on speaker. "Hello, Scarlet."

            The bulge in his jacket suddenly stiffened up.

            _::Hey, Rowan::_ A girl's voice came over the speaker. _::We're about to cross the water and enter Canalave. Where are you?::_

            Barry jumped with a start. "Maria's coming!" He dashed over to Nurse Joy, got his PokeBalls, and dashed out.

            _::Was that Barry?::_ a different girl's voice asked.

            "Yes, that was," Rowan confirmed. "He is looking forward to battling with you. I believe he has already beaten the Gym Leader here; I suggest you do the same."

            _::Right; when should we meet with you, and where?::_ the second voice asked.

            "Meet me in the Canalave library, after you have defeated Byron," Rowan replied calmly. "By the way, Maria, I've been hearing rumors that there may be a good training ground in an island not far from here; Iron Island, I believe. Why don't you go there and check it out?"

            _::I believe Scarlet and I will::_ Maria replied. _::Any training ground is a good training ground, in my case. See you after I defeat the Gym Leader!::_

As Rowan hung up and started to put the PokeGear in his pocket, Sonic noted, "Those two are going to be here pretty soon, aren't they?"

            Rowan nodded. "Barry is most likely going to be the first to welcome them, and he is most likely not going to want to stick around."

            "But you want him to," Lucas pointed out.

            "Yes, I want him to. So I would appreciate it if you did not fully reveal your past until Barry agrees to stay."

            Sonic shrugged. "Sure, I guess. I'll let Knux and the others know." He looked at Paul. "And I want _you_ to watch Barry. If he does run into Maria and Scarlet, I want to know about it."

            Paul saluted Sonic with a wing. "You've got it!"

            "One more thing." Rowan reached for his jacket's zipper and started to unzip it. "Take this Pokemon with you. He's been starting to get a little reckless."

            Before Sonic could even ask what Pokemon Rowan was talking about -- or why _he_ had to be the one to keep an eye on him -- a little white and blue Pokemon lunged at him.

            "Hi! I'm Zap; nice to meet you!"

**Scarlet's POV**

            I stood out in the grass, impatiently watching as Maria battled a Sailor using Sparks. We had just arrived on the coast near Canalave, and Maria instantly had to battle the locals. I kind of wonder if it's a Trainer's instinct, to search out fellow Trainers and clobber the other's Pokemon with their own.

            Maria finished her battle and quickly ran over. "Come on; we should reach the Pokemon Center before dark."

            I frowned. "What, you're not challenging the Gym?"

            "Nope; I'm planning on heading to Iron Island tomorrow, and then I'll challenge the Gym. The next one might be a little tougher than what we can handle right now." Maria motioned for me to follow her, and we were soon through the gate and in Canalave.

            "That's a pretty big canal," I noted, eyeing the channel that seemed to cut through the center of the city.

            "It looks like they use it to dock ships." Maria frowned, scratching her head. "I wonder if that's wise...." Her expression shifted into one of annoyance. "Oh, great. Look who's waiting for us."

            I followed her gaze and caught sight of Barry standing on the bridge in front of us, looking around with I thought was an eager and frantic expression.

            Maria frowned at the boy standing there, then sighed and shook her head. "I'd better take care of that before anything bad happens. Barry would be a waste of a Trainer if he fell into the canal and was washed out to sea."

            I started to chuckle in agreement, but then I noticed something that I thought was a little odd. "Pidgeotto aren't native to the Sinnoh region, are they?"

            Maria followed my gaze up to where the Flying-Type was perched on the bridge cables and frowned. "No, they're not. It must be owned by a Trainer somewhere in the city. I wonder what it's doing there?" She shrugged. "I guess we'll figure out later. Let's take care of Barry first." Maria walked toward him, a determined look on her face.

            Barry noticed us coming and turned to face us, grinning. "Hey, Maria! You're going to challenge the Gym Leader up past here, huh?"

            "Well, yeah," Maria replied, slightly annoyed.

            "Well, someone should see if you're up for the challenge."

            "And who might that be?" I asked sarcastically.

            "Me! With my brand new Gym Badge! Go, Staravia!"

            "Sparks, I need your assistance!" Maria called out, releasing the Luxio.

            In the fight that followed, Maria actually ended up leaning on Jirachi pretty heavily when she was going against Barry, and when she wasn't, it was clear that her team was struggling.     

            I guess a visit to Iron Island _was_ needed, despite the fact that Machop evolved into Machoke after Maria and Rose had taken out Barry's Buizel.

            Barry, surprisingly, looked bored rather than disappointed. "Yeah, yeah, you're better than me, as usual." He suddenly looked determined. "But listen up! I'm going to become the Pokemon Champion."

            Maria snorted in amusement and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure."

            "Anyways, you should be able to take on the Gym Leader here. Hurry up and go take the challenge!" And with that, Barry ran off into town somewhere.

            Maria let out a yawn. "I think that can wait until morning. Besides, I'm going to visit Iron Island tomorrow."

            I nodded. "Rowan did say it was a good training ground."

            Maria looked at Jirachi's Cherish Ball. "Yeah... I've got to stop counting on my stronger Pokemon. The Sinnoh Pokemon I have could go for a training session. Let's go there tomorrow."

            While we were talking, I took note that the Pidgeotto had taken off and was flying away pretty quickly. I wondered who it's Trainer was, because whoever they were, they really counted on its speed.

            "If I have to fight that Pidgeotto in the future, I don't know if my Pokemon would be able to keep up," Maria commented, looking up at where the bird had been a moment ago. She shook her head. "Come on; let's go get a room in the Pokemon Center. Iron Island sounds like it's going to be a pretty tough place to train, and I might need all the strength I can muster."

            I nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me."

**Spacial Break**

            Charon had just injected the hairs into the target's chamber when Cyrus snuck into his lab for a better look at what he was doing.

            "So, what does this child do?" he asked, startling the scientist. "Is she a Trainer?"

            Charon looked a little surprised at the man's intrusion, but then shook his head. "No, this girl is just a girl, nothing more."

            "You forgot that her big sister is a Ranger, Charon."

            Charon chuckled. "That is not of my concern. If her sister does come, I will be ready. In fact, Mars and Jupiter have already run into her human companion."

            "You don't mean White, do you?"

            "The very same, the very same. Besides, the Ranger still has to get used to her new form."

            Cyrus looked at his elder. "You used two girls from the same family," he stated.

            "But of course. The first's DNA reacted so well, the second ought to do the same."

            Cyrus looked the girl in the chamber over, taking note that he could already see a change. "We shall see," he said. "Just make sure you have this creature under control, unlike the last one." He turned and left the room.

            Charon smirked. "Oh, I most certainly will."

            Meanwhile, in the shadows, something dark was watching...


	17. Chapter 17

Maria let out a yawn as she woke up the next morning. Prinplup, who had been about to unleash a BubbleBeam on his Trainer, quickly retreated with a sheepish expression.

            Maria smirked at her Pokemon. "Were you really going to try that on me? Come on, buddy, you know I've got a mental alarm clock." She got off the lower bunk, picked up her backpack, and went for the bathroom.

            Prinplup looked up at Scarlet, wondering whether or not he should he should try to wake _her_ up. After considering the fact that she hadn't had a bath for a few days, the Pokemon opened his mouth.

            Prinplup only managed to get out three bubbles before Scarlet was standing in front of him without her jacket, spikes out.

            "Don't even think about it," she growled.

            Prinplup shook his head vigorously and quickly retreated to a corner of the room, while Scarlet's spikes retracted.

            Scarlet looked at the Water-Type, frowning as she thought about what it was that he had been about to do. Then she gave her underarms a quick sniff, her nose retreating in disgust. Looking at Prinplup, she said, "On second thought, hit me with everything you've got!"

            Prinplup looked at her incredulously, then grinned and unleashed a long stream of bubbles in her direction. Scarlet was soaked in seconds.

            Grabbing a blanket, Scarlet dried herself off, making sure that she got everywhere that was wet. Then, after giving her head a quick shake and scattering water all around the room, she put her jacket on and tossed the blanket unceremoniously onto the upper bunk. Just as she was doing so, Maria walked out of the bathroom in jeans, a yellow shirt, and a red jacket, her hat once again perched on her head.

            "You ready to go to Iron Island?" Maria asked.

            Prinplup nodded vigorously while Scarlet cocked her head to one side.

            "Who else are you taking with you?" the Ranger asked.

            "Well, Prinplup, obviously. Then Sparks, Star, Machoke, and Rose. I'm leaving Jirachi behind in the Box System because he's strong enough already, and I need to learn not to rely on him so much." The group left the room and exited the Pokemon Center.

            As they walked over one of the bridges outside, Scarlet looked up and took note of something familiar.

            "That Pidgeotto's back," she warned Maria.

            Maria looked up. "Is that thing stalking us?" she asked, smirking.

            The bird Pokemon squawked, indignant.

            Scarlet chuckled. "You don't want to admit you are, don't you? Tell your Trainer we're going to Iron Island and to stay off our tail!"

            The Pidgeotto let out another squawk, then flew off for the woods.

            Maria shook her head. "I'm really starting to wonder who it's Trainer is. I mean, who sends a Kanto Pokemon to watch a Trainer when this is the Sinnoh region?"

            "An old rival?" Scarlet suggested.

            Maria paused to consider that, then shook her head. "Nah. Blue hasn't been breeding his Pidgeot, and Silver doesn't have a Flying-Type, unless you count his Honchkrow."

            It didn't take them long to find where the ferries were docked, and in minutes they were on their way to Iron Island.

**Scarlet's POV**

Iron Island turned out to be a former iron mine, and it definitely had some tough Pokemon and Trainers waiting inside it for incoming unsuspecting victims.

            If they thought that Maria was either unsuspecting _or_ a victim, though, they definitely had another thing coming.

            "Whoo!" Maria slid down a slope of rock, grinning widely. "This place is pretty fun!"

            "You call getting attacked by Pokemon and Trainers left and right 'fun'?" I followed after her, my head whirling at Maria's happy mood.

            "Well, yeah!" Maria grinned back at me. "My Pokemon and I are getting stronger by spending time together like this! If I could, I would join in, too!"

            "You'd probably get bones broken!"

            "I said 'could', not 'will'!"

            There came a chuckle from somewhere a little ahead of us, causing us to turn sharply in order to see who was coming towards us.

            "I don't think that I've met very many Trainers who have been willing to participate in battle with their Pokemon," commented a man dressed in a blue suit. "My name is Riley. And you are...?"

            "Maria." Maria held out a hand and shook Riley's. "And this is my friend, Ranger Scarlet."

            I gave the man a nod, watching him cautiously as Riley looked over at me.

            "A Ranger?" Riley's eyebrows rose. "That's interesting. Perhaps you can be of some help."

            Maria and I exchanged looks at that, then looked back at Riley.

            "What kind of help?" Maria asked, frowning.

            "Ben -- my Lucario -- and I have noticed that the Pokemon around here are becoming restless." Riley nodded to his right as his Pokemon stepped out of the shadows. "We suspect that someone might be bothering the Pokemon. Would you be willing to help me in finding them?"

            Maria gained a determined expression instantly, her mood clearly souring. "Definitely."

            Riley was right; the Pokemon _were_ restless. Steelix, Onix, Graveler, and Zubats and Golbats were attacking each other and other Trainers with crazed looks in their eyes. It didn't take very long before we were the only remotely human people in the cave.

            And it didn't take us very long before we managed to find the source of the problem.

            Sparks came to a stop as the Golbat she had been fighting, flinching as she glowed suddenly before changing shape into a Luxray. I took a step back as she shook her head, her nose twitching as she let out a menacing growl.

            "Maria, I'm smelling the spacemen," Sparks warned in PokeSpeak.

            "Spacemen?" I repeated, blinking.

            "Team Galactic," Maria confirmed, nodding. "I can see them from here." She pointed towards the other side of the cave, where two men with green wigs were standing, spraying something all over the place. "It looks like they're using a kind of Repel that only Pokemon can really smell at all." She looked down at Sparks. "Can you deal with it for a little bit longer? We've almost reached them."

            The Luxray looked unhappy at the idea, then gave a curt nod.

            "All right. Let's go and get them!"

            As Maria and Sparks charged on ahead, I turned and looked at Riley. There'd been a question that had been bugging me, and I figured that now would be a good time to ask.

            "Why weren't you startled by what I look like?" I asked, frowning up at him.

            "Another just like you passed through here yesterday," Riley explained, shrugging slightly. "He was with a Riolu at the time, and said he was planning on staying in Canalave a few days with some friends of his."

            "Another person like Scarlet?" Maria paused and looked back at us as we caught up with her. "What did he look like?"

            "Well, he was about your friend's height and was also red, but he only had dreadlocks." Riley frowned slightly as he thought back. "He was only wearing a strange pair of shoes and boxing gloves with spikes where two of his knuckles might have been."

            "You mean, like these?" I raised a hand and willed the spikes to show themselves, causing Riley's and Ben's eyes to widen.

            "Exactly!" Riley nodded. "Do you know him?"

            Maria and I shook our heads.

            "We have been hearing rumors, but I didn't think that we'd end up hearing about one from someone who had met them." Maria frowned. "Is he...in Canalave still?"

            "I believe so. He made it very clear that he didn't like to be around civilization much, though."

            We let the conversation drop at that as we approached the two Galactic grunts. Both of them were talking loudly about their plan to capture all the Pokemon in the area and bring them to their boss. Riley instantly took notice.

            "So, you two are responsible for agitating the Pokemon," he said. "I don't care what good reason you have, but I don't want you bringing any trouble into my mine."

            _His_ mine? Did his parents own this place?

            One of the grunts snorted. "We're Team Galactic! We'll take all the Pokemon we want! Isn't that right, partner?"

            "You said it, brother," the other agreed. "So that's what we're gonna do! We're abducting all the Pokemon from this rusted out Iron Island!"

            Riley shook his head. "To share in all the joys and all the sorrows...that is how all Trainers and Pokemon live in Sinnoh! I won't let anyone defy that code of ethics!" He looked at Maria. "Come on, Maria! This is one battle we can't lose! Ben, front and center!"

            "All right, Sparks, let's go!" Maria's voice came out more like a bark than a shout.

            It didn't take too long for Maria and Riley to clobber the two grunts, taking out the Zubat, Glameow, and Stunky that they tried to throw their way. By the time they were done, the two grunts looked like they were both amazed and terrified.

            "Stop! I said stop! Your combination is so sick! The both of you, and your Pokemon..." The first turned to the second. "Let's beat it, partner!"

            "You said it, brother," the other agreed. "We don't even know what Galactic's big plan is anyway."

            The two sped off.

            Riley grinned at the two of us. "Thanks. You really helped me out. Listen, I have a Pokemon Egg here." He pulled out a blue egg with black markings. "Would you take it with you?"

            Maria accepted the Egg. "Sure."

            "Thanks. I'd like to show the Pokemon inside the Egg all sorts of new places. Spending time with you was very enjoyable. I intend to test my skills in other places from now on."

            "And I intend to continue traveling," Maria remarked.

            Riley smiled. "Then we might meet again. Take care on the way out."

            "And the same to you," Maria replied as we went down the elevator. After going through an opening in the cave wall, we came to an elevator that went up, took that, and walked out of the cave. To our surprise, it was already night.

            "Looks like I'll have to battle the Gym Leader tomorrow," Maria remarked. "Let's go back to the Pokemon Center and get some rest."

            I shrugged. "If that's how you feel about it, sure."

            The ferry trip back felt a little shorter than the one that we had taken this morning. After we got back in Canalave, I can say with certainty that everything blurred a bit as we went into the Pokemon Center and got ourselves a room.

            I was knocked asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.


	18. Chapter 18

**Maria's POV**

Early the next morning -- probably five in the morning or something like that -- I got up, took my team, and left Scarlet sleeping in bed. I figured that I'd only be away from the Pokemon Center for a couple of hours, so I didn't need to wake her up.

            Besides, she would probably get bored rather quickly with what I was planning on doing.

            After I left the Pokemon Center, I called out Star and had her fly me over to Solaceon, where I pulled put my bike and started riding up and down the route at high speed. I knew that running and biking were more than enough to make Pokemon Eggs hatch, but I just needed to keep moving.

            And I'm glad that I decided to bike rather than run, because it took a lot of time riding around on _that_ to get the Egg in my backpack to start shaking enough that I had to stop and pull it out to make sure that it was doing all right.

            My eyebrows shot up when I saw that the Egg was actually _glowing_ , which made me quickly scramble off my bike and kneel on the grass. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...."

            The Egg stilled in its shaking as I backed up a little, and then stopped glowing. I sucked in a breath sharply as the Egg started shaking a little.

            _Crack!_

            "Oh!" My eyes widened, and I quickly moved around the egg shells as I helped the little Pokemon to his feet. "Careful there."

            The Riolu blinked in confusion, then looked up at me with wide, curious eyes. "H-huh?"

            I smiled at the Pokemon's reaction. "Don't worry. I'm a friend. My name's Maria. And I think I'm going to call you, little Riolu...Luke."

            The Riolu blinked again. "L...Luke?"

            "Yup. You remind me of someone with that name, and I think that he wouldn't mind if he shared his name with you." I lifted the little Pokemon up and placed him in my lap so that he could get used to my warmth. "So, your father's Trainer asked me to show you all kinds of new places. That's why there isn't a Lucario hanging around nearby. Would you like to travel with me and see the world?"

            Luke cocked his head, considering my words. Then he smiled brightly and said, "Yes! Papa must've given me to you for a reason!"

            I giggled. "Then it's settled. From now on, I'm your Trainer. Here - meet the rest of my team." I pulled out the five PokeBalls and released Machoke, Rose, Star, Sparks, and Prinplup. "Guys, this is Luke. He's a new part of our team."

            Prinplup walked over and held out his wing in greeting. Luke looked at it for a moment before he held out his own paw and shook Prinplup's wing. I smiled at the sight and got the feeling that those two were going to become great friends.

            After I'd managed to get things settled with Luke and the others, I had Star fly us back to Canalave, where I went immediately to the Gym after doing some PC Box stuff. It had obviously only just opened up, because a couple of the Trainers there looked a little sleepy and the statues were snoring - loudly.

            I grinned and let out FireMane, my Rapidash. "We need to get the Trainers in here awake. Maybe you could use Stomp?"

            FireMane gave me a wide grin and a nod before slamming his hooves down into the ground.

            The move shook the steel skeleton that made up most of the Gym, completely waking up the Trainers and letting them know there was a challenger in the area. Then my Pokemon and I proceeded up the steel construct, taking out the Trainers along the way to the Gym Leader.

            The Gym Leader, Byron, gave me a grumpy morning look that matched his stubble-covered face. "Were you the one who decided to almost collapse my Gym?"

            I nodded, grinning. "I knew that anything built around here would be sturdy enough to withstand a Stomp attack. Besides, snoring statues don't make a very good first impression." I pointed to the entrance, which was far below us. "The name's Maria, and I came to challenge you."

            "Show me your Trainer Case first," came the reply. "I want to know if you are worthy to fight me."

            I pulled my Trainer Case out of my backpack and showed him the five Badges I had collected. I felt rather proud of them, even though there were still three Badges I had left to get and I had completed three Leagues already.

            "Ah. I see you've defeated my son." Byron tapped my Coal Badge.

            "Roark's your son?" I repeated, surprised.

            "But of course. It's obvious he still has much to learn, if you've managed to get this far. So I, Byron, in place of my son, accept your challenge! Go, Bronzor!"

            "FireMane, take the stage!" I called.

**Change in POV**

            Scarlet woke up and looked around lazily, expecting some sort of morning noise that suggested signs of life, only to find that there was nothing. Prinplup wasn't waiting to unleash a Bubblebeam, and Maria wasn't in the shower, either.

            Feeling uneasy, Scarlet leapt off the top bunk and grabbed her jacket. She started to make her way towards the door, but then stopped short in surprise when Maria opened the door and nearly hit the Ranger in the nose.

            "Morning," Maria said cheerily.

            "Where were you?" Scarlet demanded.

            "Out."

            "Out where?"

            Luke peered around Maria's legs. "Maria, who's this?" he asked nervously.

            "It's okay, Luke," Maria looked down at the Riolu and smiled. "Scarlet's a friend."

            Scarlet stared at the little Fighting-Type in surprise. "Where did you -"

            "The Egg hatched while I was biking over in Solaceon," Maria replied in passing. "I've got the Mine Badge from Byron, too."

            "So, now we're supposed to meet up with Rowan, right?" Scarlet ventured.

            Maria nodded. "Barry met me outside of the Gym and told me to follow him over to the library. I wonder what Professor Rowan wanted to meet us for."

            "I kinda get the feeling it's got something to do with Team Galactic," Scarlet remarked. "I mean, those guys are getting more and more numerous."

            "And we still need to get back at them for what they did to you," Maria added.

            Scarlet nodded. "True that."

**Time Break**

            When they arrived at the library's entrance, Barry was waiting impatiently for them.

            "About time, Slowpokes!" Barry glared at Maria and Scarlet. "I've been waiting _forever_. We've got to get up to the third floor. If I beat you, you owe me a million bucks!" He turned tail and dashed into the building.

            Maria shook her head and sighed. "I see Barry is still the same."

            Scarlet smirked. "Do you think he'd pay us if one of us beat him up?"

            Maria opened her mouth to answer, but Scarlet was already gone in a red blur and a blast of wind. The Ranger was up at the top of the library in seconds, with Barry a full flight of stairs behind her.

            "How did you _do_ that?" Barry stepped onto the third floor, panting.

            "I just can." Scarlet shrugged, then grinned. "You said something about owing a million bucks, didn't you?"

            Barry looked a little nervous. "That was just a joke! Honest!"

            "Calm down, Barry," Maria said as she arrived on the third floor. "Scarlet knows." She looked around the room, then spotted Professor Rowan and Lucas, who were sitting at a table that could seat eight not very far away from them. "There they are. Come on, guys."

            Maria led Scarlet and Barry over to the table, with Scarlet sitting next to Rowan, and Maria taking an open spot next to Lucas.

            Barry, however, did not sit.

            "Well, gramps, I brought Maria like I said," he stated. "I'll be outta here." He stepped away from the table, ready to run off.

            Rowan looked at him with a slightly annoyed look, and said nothing.

            Barry sighed. "I get it." He came back over to the table and sat on the other side of Maria.

            Rowan nodded in approval. "Everyone's here, finally. Now, everyone listen. You may have forgotten already, but I study the evolution of Pokemon."

            "I remember," Maria said. Lucas nodded. Barry just snorted.

            "But the more I study, the more mysteries appear and multiply," Rowan continued. "Such as Pokemon that evolve, and those that don't, as well as Scarlet's situation."

            Scarlet raised her hands and shrugged. "Hey, what can you do when your DNA gets messed with?"

            "Train to get to know your abilities better," Rowan replied. He looked over at a row of bookshelves. "You can come out, now."

            Three figured emerged behind one of the bookshelves -- Pokemon. Scarlet's ears twitched with surprise when she saw the Pidgeotto that had been watching her and Maria two days ago. The Pokemon sitting on the bird's back was a Riolu, but the spinning pair of gears that was floating next to them was definitely unfamiliar.

            Luke popped out of his PokeBall and ran over, an excited look on his face. The other Riolu looked surprised at seeing Luke, and he jumped off the Pidgeotto and ran back the way he had come, Luke chasing after him.

            "Wha--"

            "Hey!"

            "Whoa!"

            _Thud!_

Scarlet blinked when she heard the yelps and the thud.

            Maria jumped up. "Luke!" she exclaimed, worried. She was about to run over and find her Pokemon, only to pause and back up as three more figures came out from behind the bookshelf, followed by the two Riolu.

            Scarlet and Maria stared at what looked like a calm, yellow Vulpix-like creature with two tails, a red creature with dreadlocks and spiked knuckles, and a blue, Sandslash-like creature with emerald green eyes and a proud smirk.

            Scarlet blinked in confusion while Maria stiffened, her eyes widening as she looked at the three creatures.

            "This can't be happening," Maria murmured. "It can't be!"

            "Try saying that after getting dragged around Canalave in two minutes," Barry muttered, scowling.

            The blue creature let out a laugh. "Well, it helped prove my point about my name, didn't it?" he asked cockily.

            "Sonic, did you really have to do that?" the yellow creature asked.

            "He asked me why I was called Sonic," the blue creature replied. "Knux would probably react in the same sort of way if the kid asked why he was called Knuckles."

            The red creature chuckled. "I'd just show him these," he remarked, lifting his hands for emphasis. "I wouldn't, say, pummel his blond head, but if I was in a mood, I would get pretty close." He laughed again.

            Maria rose from her seat. "You're the three main PokeMorphs of legend!" she exclaimed. "The Blur, Avatar, and Chosen One!"

            The blue creature looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, come on! Did you really have to bring up those old nicknames? The name's Sonic, and I'm a hedgehog."

            "And I'm Miles Prower, but everybody calls me Tails," the yellow creature added. "I'm a Mobian fox."

            "The name's Knuckles," the red creature finished, brandishing one of his fists. "I'm an echidna, and Guardian of the Master Emerald of Angel Island."

            Maria nodded. "I've read all about you three in the Ruins of Alph. Your adventures are amazing!"

            "Well, I'm glad that one of the people in this time has been able to learn a few things about us," Sonic remarked. He looked over at Scarlet. "You're Scarlet, right?"

            She nodded. "How did you know?"

            "A Ranger showed me a picture. Speaking of which..." The hedgehog stuck his hands in his spines and started to rummage through them. Then he came in contact with something and started to pull.

            There was an instant squeal of protest. Scarlet's ears instantly went straight up.

            "Oh, come on," Sonic muttered. "I know you don't like this place all that much, but I'm pretty sure you're going to like what I'm about to show you if you come out of there."

            Something rustled in response. Then, a Pachirisu popped out of the top of Sonic's collection of spines. A very _familiar_ Pachirisu to Scarlet.

            "Zap!" Scarlet exclaimed, catching the Electric-Type's attention.

            "Pachi!" Zap replied, jumping over in the Ranger's direction. He hugged Scarlet around her neck, then climbed up and say on her head, happy to be there.

            Maria giggled. "Something tells me your Partner Pokemon is very happy to see you."

            "Happy is an understatement," Sonic remarked. "Overexcited would be a little closer to the truth. As soon as he got here, all he talked about was finding you. Then he decided to take a nap in my head quills because he didn't like the library very much. Personally, I don't like it either - too quiet for my taste."

            The Pidgeotto let out a twitter.

            "You said it, Paul," Sonic stated. "Hey, Prof - let's get this done before I die of boredom."

            Scarlet frowned. "Wait -- you just called that Pidgeotto Paul. You're his Trainer, aren't you?"

            Sonic grinned. "Yup." He motioned to the Riolu next to Luke and the rotating gears. "Knuckles has been training Vent, the Riolu, and Tails has been hanging out with Gear, a Klink."

            Maria and Scarlet blinked at Sonic's introduction.

            "I don't think I've seen a Pokemon like that before," Maria commented, blinking.

            "So, what were we called here for, besides the sudden discovery that PokeMorphs actually exist?" Lucas inquired.

            "Before we get to that..." Tails turned to the bookshelves and motioned for someone to come over. Four humans - three boys, one girl -and a Lucario stepped out.

            Scarlet stiffened, recognizing two of the humans instantly. "Kate! Kellyn!"

            "Scarlet!" Kate ran over and hugged Scarlet rightly. "It's so good to see you!"

            Scarlet grinned in response. "Where have you been?" she asked as Kate released her. "Traveling around with these guys behind my back?"

            Kate laughed, then looked back at Kellyn. "I guess you could say that."

            The other boy walked over to Maria and held out a hand, which Maria grabbed. "Hey, White."

            "Hey, Brendan," Maria replied, grinning. "I didn't expect to see you here."

            "Well, when Knuckles and Sonic showed up on my doorstep, I wasn't about to ignore the adventure that was calling for my attention." Brendan grinned. "And running into Black was definitely even more incentive." He motioned to the other boy next to him, who gave Maria a nod in greeting, which she returned.

            "So, what have you been doing?" Kate asked, looking between Maria and Scarlet.

            "Oh, just traveling across the region with this Trainer, nothing more." Scarlet looked over at Sonic and Knuckles. "I definitely have your abilities."

            Sonic smirked. "I know. It's not everyday you hear someone zoom up flights of stairs like you did. But how did you get Knuckles' abilities other than his dreads?"

            Scarlet made a fist with her left hand and summoned her spikes, causing the Mobians' eyes to widen in surprise. This caused Scarlet to grin as the spikes retracted, but the grin soon faded. "And yes, that's because of what Charon did to me."

            Tails frowned. "Have you tried flying yet?"

            Scarlet frowned. "Fly? I don't think that I can."

            "Well, you have my tails, so you should be able to. I'll make sure to teach you later." Tails looked over at Rowan. "The Professor said he wanted to talk to us first, though."

            Maria looked at Rowan curiously. "What is it?"

            Rowan sighed. "It's about Team Galactic, and the three lakes that are in the regions. I have a feeling that Galactic may be after what lies in those lakes."

            "The lakes?" Sonic frowned. "What's so important about those lakes?"

            "According to legend, three Legendary Pokemon sleep in these three lakes," Maria explained. "They are said to represent three parts of the spirit: willpower, emotion, and knowledge. They are also said to be connected to the beginning of the universe. Team Galactic, from what I've heard, is hoping to do something concerning the universe." She looked at Sonic. "Something about creating a new one."

            Knuckles snorted. "The only person who is possibly capable of doing that isn't even a mortal. Why do they want to do this?"

            Maria shrugged. "Maybe that answer will come in due time. We can't say for sure."

            Rowan coughed, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "Anyway, I need groups of you to go to each of these lakes and protect them against anything Team Galactic might intend to do. Maria, Brendan, and Sonic will go to Lake Valor, which is north of Pastoria. Lucas, Knuckles, and Kate will go to Lake Verity, located not very far from my lab in Sandgem. And Barry, Kellyn, and Black will go to Lake Acuity to the north, not very far from Snowpoint City."

            "Where does that leave me and Tails?" Scarlet pointed between the two-tailed fox and herself.

            "Latch onto groups of your own choosing," Rowan replied simply.

            Scarlet and Tails looked at each other.

            "You are going to teach me how to fly," Scarlet said, "but I'm sticking with Maria. I'm definitely planning on taking on Team Galactic with her."

            "I could help out with that," Sonic pointed out. "Why don't you two go with Knux? It seems like you've got the speed thing pretty much down."

            Scarlet shook her head. "The way Maria talks about you, it sounds like you're the center of every solution to a problem. I think going with you guys would be the best thing."

            Maria chuckled nervously. "Can I help it if the runes in the ruins paint every adventure that way?"

            Sonic chuckled. "No, you can't."

            Tails frowned slightly. "You know, before we split, we said that we would give a quick history lesson from our perspective. You guys obviously don't know everything that we do." He motioned for Sonic, Knuckles, and the Rangers and Brendan to sit at the table, then moved and say down next to Scarlet. The others followed suit, taking up the other seats that were left there.

            Tails looked around the group before he looked back at the Trainers. "Okay; I'll start."


	19. Chapter 19

Tails leaned forward a little, resting his arms on the table. "Before we were born, a few thousand years ago or so, this planet had only humans living on it, and they didn't know if there were any other races living anywhere else."

            "So...no alien life," Maria stated.

            Sonic snorted. "So _they_ thought. There were aliens living out there, though. Earth, as the planet was called, got a visit from an ambassador from an alien race called the Xorda, who wanted to make an alliance with the humans."

            "I take it that didn't work out." Scarlet frowned.

            Tails shook his head. "We don't know the complete details, but the aliens decided to wipe out the human race using a device called a Gene Bomb. It was meant to leave the environment alone while the humans were wiped out. Instead, it brought about the First Day of Fury."

            "First Day of Fury?" Kellyn repeated.

            "A echidna term for a disaster on a global scale," Knuckles explained. "There are multiple Days of Fury throughout history."

            Brendan exchanged glances with Maria. "Kyogre and Groudon," the said together.

            Sonic gave them an odd look, then continued, "Anyway, after that, the Mobosaurs appeared on the planet, which we call Mobius. All of them were taken out by the Coming of the Chaos Emeralds, except for the Ancient Walkers...and Mammoth Mogul."

            Scarlet and Maria frowned. The way Sonic had said the name definitely made it sound like he didn't like him very much.

            "Mammoth Mogul got a Chaos Emerald embedded in his chest, right?" Maria asked. "And he gained immortality through that?"

            The hedgehog nodded. "He's made it a point to make my life miserable in the past."

            Maria nodded slightly while Scarlet gained an expression of understanding.

            "So, after that, the Mobians came around?" Lucas guessed.

            Knuckles nodded. "The echidna race advanced first. "When a comet threatened Echidnaopolis, my ancestors lifted the entire city up in the air using twelve Chaos Emeralds, creating the Floating Island, or Angel Island, as it has been renamed. After that, the Mobians of the world below created the Kingdom of Acorn."

            "Not long after that, the Great War started," Sonic stated.

            "Great... _war?"_ Barry actually sounded a little nervous.

            "The Overlanders, who physically look like humans except for their hands - four fingers per hand - had been excelling in technology for quite some time," Tails explained. "Eventually, our two kingdoms began to butt heads with each other, and after the prince was killed by an Overlander, our relations took a turn for the worse. Because we had been holding back on advancing our technology when we saw what the Overlanders did with it, we were having a hard time holding them off. With the help of an old Overlander named Nate Morgan, we invented Power Rings, which used Chaos Energy, in order to find a clean energy that didn't hurt the environment. That helped a little, but Nate was kicked out of Acorn because Kodos, our resident Warlord, didn't like him very much."

            "A Warlord is basically a General in human terms, right?" Maria asked.

            Sonic nodded. "Yup. And Kodos wasn't the kind of guy you wanted to get on the bad side of. King Max figured that out pretty quickly, and when an Overlander who had been hunted by his own species came to us, Kodos was replaced rather quickly." He looked over at Maria. "Dad and Uncle Chuck were the ones who found him."

            "Your dad was in the Great War?" Kate asked with a frown.

            Sonic nodded. "So was Tails' dad. My parents _met_ during the Great War."

            "And then Robutnik took over," Maria stated with a frown. "The ruin carvings said he took over the Kingdom when you were what, five?"

            Sonic nodded in confirmation. "That's right. That when I met Tails and the rest of my team - the Freedom Fighters. From then on, we fought Robotnik until we defeated him when Sinvely, his sniveling, unhappy nephew, turned him into a million molecules and scattered him throughout the universe."

            "Then where does that Eggman come into all of this?" Black raised an eyebrow.

            Scarlet stifled a laugh at the name. "Eggman? What kind of name is _that?_ "

            Sonic grinned at Scarlet's reaction. "It's a nickname that I pinned him with." His grin faded. "He's a Robotnik from a world where he'd taken out his Sonic."

            Everyone stared at him.

            "Another world?" Kate repeated. How is that possible?"

            Maria muttered something intelligible, then frowned.

            "For that, you'd have to be ready to interact with multiple versions of yourself, and I highly doubt that you're ready for that," Tails stated. "Especially when there's at least one version of you that's a bad guy."

            Scarlet did a double-take at that. "A _villain?_ I find _that_ hard to believe."

            " _Anyway_ ," Sonic continued, "Eggman took over the evil doctor job, Snively got back his job as sniveling assistant, and our lives went back to the usual that we had faced since childhood."

            "But Eggman wasn't alone this time," Tails added. "There were others involved, too - the Dark Legion, the Iron Queen and King, and the Xordans came back for another round of genocide."

            Maria frowned. "I remember reading something about Sonic being gone for a year after that...."

            "Because I was thrown halfway across universe," Sonic replied, huffing. "I had to stop the Quantum Dial from going off and turning the world into a black hole, so I ran into it."

            "A black hole?" Lucas repeated. "Are they even capable of doing that?"

            Sonic snorted. "I've got an alien device from my travels that lets me understand the language of every creature in the universe. It would make sense that an alien race is capable of creating a black hole using their technology."

            Maria's and Scarlet's eyebrows shot up at this.

            "A device in your ear?" Maria's surprised expression turned into a scowl. "Now, that's just cheating."

            Sonic sent Maria a sour look as Tails kept the story going.

            "While Sonic was trying to get back, everybody thought that he was dead, and thought that for a year," Tails explained. "Course, when he came back and trashed some of Eggman's SWATbots, his death was wiped from the history books."

            "And then Eggman lost it," Maria stated.

            "You're rushing a little bit," Knuckles warned. "You forgot the Dark Legion's joining with Eggman."

            "What is the Dark Legion?" Kellyn inquired.

            "A group of echidnas who decided to enhance themselves with cybernetics," the echidna replied. "I'm related to them only in ancestry."

            "The...Enerjak problem, right?" Maria guessed.

            Scarlet frowned when Knuckles gave an involuntary shudder.

            "How _did_ Eggman go mad, anyway?" Maria asked, frowning.

            "We beat him too many times," Tails replied.

            "He recovered," Sonic added. "When Ixis Naugus took over."

            Scarlet frowned. "Who is-?"

            _BOOM!!!_

            Everyone stumbled as the library started shaking vigorously.

            "Hang on!" Maria yelled, gripping the table. "Earthquakes shouldn't last for long!"

            True to the Trainer's word, the earthquake quickly subsided.

            "Is everyone all right?" Rowan asked, looking around at the group.

            "Yeah, we're fine," Sonic replied, clearly unruffled. "This is nothing compared to getting thrown halfway across the universe."

            "Or causing every Chaos Emerald in the universe to be transported into a pocket zone," Tails added.

            "I wouldn't say that I know anything about what you guys have gone through, but having a drought _and_ a thunderstorm going on at the same time kinda makes earthquakes not as big," Brendan agreed.

            Maria nodded, then rose to her feet. "Come on; we've got to find out what caused that earthquake."

            Rowan nodded. "Right; be careful of aftershocks, everyone!"

            The group quickly made their way down the stairs, led by Maria and Brendan, who looked as serious as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Black, and the Rangers did.

            As soon as they stepped out of the building, Maria made a beeline for a nearby sailor. "Do you have any idea what happened?"

            The sailor nodded, ignoring the fact that there were four Mobians standing in front of him     -- the earthquake was obviously still fresh on his mind. "There was this _huge_ explosion, and I caught sight of a cloud of smoke rising up from over there." He pointed to the east, where a faint plume of smoke was slowly rising up. "It's coming from the area that Lake Valor is in!"

            Maria paled at that. "What?" She quickly turned to face the rest of the group as she released her Staravia. "We need to get there _now_!"

            "I don't think that Star's going to be able to carry _everyone_ there." Scarlet looked between Star and the rest of the group.

            "I've got a biplane," Tails volunteered. "If I can get to Sandgem and back here quickly, then we can use that."

            "Star?" Maria looked over at the Staravia, who saluted her Trainer. "Take Tails back to Sandgem. Use your speed."

            "Right!" Star nodded to Tails, who climbed onto the Pokemon's back before she took off towards the south.

            "And Black and I both have Flying-Types with the move Fly," Brendan added, motioning to himself and the other Trainer as Star and Tails disappeared on the horizon.

            Sonic folded her arms across his chest. "Paul could fly just fine, but he doesn't know that move that you're talking about."

            "Hang on." Maria dug into her backpack and pulled out the HM02 disk. "Do you know how to use one of these?"

            "You actually _kept_ the HM?" Brendan asked, surprised.

            "Well, yeah; you never know when you need these things again." Maria smirked at the other Trainer.

            "Lucky," Barry muttered, scowling. "I've got a Staravia, too, but _I_ don't have Fly yet."

            "You practically fly on your own two feet," Maria replied as she handed the disk over to Sonic. "Besides, if Valor's been attacked, what about the other two lakes?"

            Barry's eyes widened at that. "Right! Okay, who's coming up to Acuity with me?"

            "That's me and Black." Kellyn motioned between himself and the Trainer.

            "Whatever it is that this Team Galactic has planned, they won't be expecting me." Black grinned. "Since I'm a registered Champion in Unova."

            Maria did a double-take. "What? You're a Champion?"

            Black gave a nod and was about to respond, but then Barry interrupted him.

            "Hello! We've got to check up on the lakes!" the boy waved his arms around.

            "I agree with the kid," Sonic said, nodding. "We need to get moving!"

            Lucas nodded. "Right. The professor and my group will go check on Lake Verity while you guys head to Lake Valor and Lake Acuity. There might be Galactic grunts in Valor already."

            "And maybe at the other lakes, too," Kate added. "We'll be ready for them though, right, Lucia?"

            _"Right,"_ the Lucario next to her confirmed, startling Scarlet when the Pokemon spoke using telepathy.

            Knuckles scooped up Vent and put the Riolu on his shoulder. "Let's get going. Splitting up will let us cover ground faster."

            "Right!" Vent nodded in agreement. "Let's go!"

            Knuckles turned and ran for the docks, followed by Kate, Lucia, Lucas, and Rowan, leaving the others to either wait for Tails to come back or something else.

            Black turned to look at Maria. "Do you have a map of the region?"

            "Allow me." Scarlet reached into her jacket and pulled out her own map before handing it over to the Trainer.

            "Lake Acuity's far to the north," Maria explained quickly, tapping the top of the map. "Here, somewhere around Snowpoint. There's a Gym up there, too."

            "A Gym?!" Barry suddenly looked interested.

            Maria sent the other Trainer a scowling look before she winced suddenly and stumbled back from the map. "Grrgh."

            "White?" Brendan moved over to stand next to her, looking concerned.

            Maria waved him off. "I'm fine, Brendan." She shook her head. "You're not going to be able to fly up that way -- there's a pretty heavy snowstorm that's settling in up there, and those things can last for _days._ "

            Black gave Maria an odd look at that. "How would you know that?"

            "I don't have time to explain," Maria snapped in reply. "Just go! You can enter the caves to the east of Eternia City in order to get up there. Hurry!"

            "You heard her," Brendan added, fixing Black with a dark look.

            Black blinked at the glares he was receiving, then nodded. "All right." He folded up the map and handed it back to Scarlet, then turned his attention to Barry and Kellyn. "Let's go."

            "Right!" Kellyn responded. He turned to look at Barry, only to find that the Trainer was already scrambling for Canalave's exit. "Hey! Don't rush ahead of us!" He barreled after the Sinnoh Trainer, Black following after the Ranger.

            It wasn't too long after the trio were out of sight that the sound of an engine came from somewhere overhead.

            "Here comes Tails!" Sonic called, pointing up to the sky. The group looked up, only to see a blue and yellow biplane fly over their heads and land in the trees beyond. "Come on -- we've got a plane to catch." The hedgehog ran off into the trees, Paul and Gear flying after him, and the rest of the group on their heels.

            Scarlet decided to stay near the back of the group rather than rely on her speed. "Hey, Brendan."

            "Hmm?" Brendan looked over at the Ranger. "Yeah?"

            "What was up with what happened with Maria just now? Do you know something?" Scarlet's eyes narrowed; she wanted answers, and she was going to try to get them whether anyone liked it or not.

            "Oh, that." Brendan frowned. "I'm not entirely sure what it is, but sometimes it's like Maria sees glimpses of things, and they always come with short headaches. It happened before, too, when Maxie and Archie woke up Groudon and Kyogre. I remember her saying something about how 'the orbs were bad news and those two are complete morons.'"

            Scarlet's frown deepened. "Is Maria _ever_ going to fill us in?"

            "I don't know, to be honest."

            It didn't take them too long after that to find where Tails had landed his plane on the outskirts of the city.

            "Dibs on the wing!" Sonic called as he jumped onto the plane's right wing and Star flopped out of one of the seats on the body of the plane. "Come on, guys -- this Lake Valor thing isn't going to wait around for us forever."

            Maria looked the plane over, eyeing the red circle with the twin tails on the side of the mostly-cobalt plane. "Did you build this _yourself_?"

            "Yup!" Tails gave the others a bright smile. "It's just the plane, though; I haven't been able to add any of the usual features yet."

            "Are we going to fit on that thing?" Scarlet asked, frowning.

            "You can ride on the wing, like me," Sonic pointed out. "And I know that Brendan's got a few Pokemon that can fly pretty quickly."

            Brendan chuckled. "Salamence and Flygon are nothing compared to the Pokemon Maria's got in her Hoenn PC box system. Raqyuaza could go around the world in a day if he wanted to."

            Maria chuckled. "Well, that, and he'd probably be able to carry all of us, since he's so big. I can't wait for Mom to send him over as soon as I've beaten all eight Gym Leaders in this area."

            "So, anyway, you've got Star to help out with anyone who can't sit on the plane anywhere," Sonic stated calmly.

            "When she recovers from that flight from here to Sandgem," Tails added, looking at the Flying-Type. It was pretty clear that the Pokemon was struggling to stay upright. "She wore herself out getting me down there."

            "That's not too much of a problem," Maria replied as she pulled out a pink spray bottle. "Hold still, Star; all this is going to do is restore your energy by a lot."

            Star complied, holding still while her Trainer sprayed her wings, where the muscles were most torn from exhaustion. When Maria was done, Star flapped her wings experimentally, then started hopping from one foot to the other. "Okay! Let's go!"

            Maria nodded in agreement. "Right. We need to get to Pastoria -- fast. Everybody else is gonna follow after us." She got onto Star's back, looking over at everyone else as Brendan released his Flygon and climbed on while Scarlet jumped into the open seat on the plane.

            "I'm really gonna have to teach you how to windsurf," Sonic commented, looking over at Scarlet. When the Ranger snorted in response, Sonic looked down at Tails and gave him a wide grin. "Okay, let's do it to it!"

            Tails nodded in agreement as the plane's engine roared to life, and he quickly turned it around and took off into the air, using the open space as a temporary runway. Maria and Brendan had their Pokemon take off after the plane, moving to the right and left of its wings, while Paul flew next to and a little behind Brendan.

            "Lake Valor's this way!" Maria yelled, directing Tails to fly east. "Follow me, but don't sheer off Star's tailfeathers!"

            Tails gave her a thumbs-up in response, and Maria directed Star to fly ahead of the plane while Paul moved to take her place.

            Sonic gave a whistle. "That bird of hers is fast!"

            Paul looked at Sonic with something of an aghast expression. "Hey!"

            "You're fast too, buddy, but I think that bird of hers is stronger than you are right now!"

            Paul scowled at that, and he didn't say anything else for the rest of the flight.

            It didn't take them too long before Maria was directing the group to land on a beach outside of a heavily forested area.

            "Lake Valor is right over there!" Maria pointed towards a heavy plume of smoke that was rising into the sky. "Or, it _was_. We're going to need to get over there."

            Sonic zoomed off in the direction that Maria had pointed in before Maria had finished her sentence.

            "Has she always been this determined?" Tails asked, looking up at Brendan.

            Brendan nodded. "You should have seen her take on Aqua and Magma back in Hoenn. Sometimes, it was like she was in two places at once!"

            "Come on!" Maria barked, already making her way down the beach after the trail that Sonic had dug into the sand.

            The group followed after Maria, skirting the resort that Maria and Scarlet had passed through twice already in order to avoid startling the people there even more than they already had been.

            "Okay, I think there's a break in the trees up ahead that leads into the lake." Maria pointed towards the forest ahead of them. "I hope the Pokemon who are living here haven't been disturbed too much by whatever it is that the Galactic goons did."

            Sonic zipped through the trees and over to the group. "Oh, they're disturbed all right. If there was a lake there, it's _long_ gone."

            "What do you mean?" Scarlet frowned. "How can a _lake_ be _gone_?"

            "That earthquake had to have something to do with it," Maria muttered, frowning. She looked at Star, then nodded slightly as the Staravia returned to her PokeBall. "All right. Let's go check it out and figure out what Team Galactic's up to." Maria started for the trees, releasing Prunplup as she did. After a moment, the rest of the group followed after her.

            When they came out of the trees, Scarlet had been expecting a dried up lake. What she and the others saw was _much_ worse.

            There _was_ no lake. What was there instead was a gigantic crater with red Magikarp, the weakest Pokemon in the world, scattered all over the place. In and among the flopping Pokemon were green-haired Galactic goons.

            Tails spotted a couple smoldering craters. "It looks like they used explosives," he remarked. He looked at Gear. "Come on; we'll provide a distraction to get these guys to pull out their Pokemon. Brendan, Maria, could you knock them out?"

            "We all will," Maria replied with a smirk. "Let's go skin some Galactic hide!"

            Sonic gained a wide grin. "I think I'm starting to like this kid. Hey, Scarlet, let's go bug some of these goons -- I want to see how fast you _really_ are."

            Scarlet blinked at that, then gained a wide grin. "You're on!" She looked at Zap, who was sitting on her shoulder. "You go and help Maria and her team out; I don't think you'll be able to handle my kind of speed yet."

            The Pachirisu saluted in response, then leaped off Scarlet's shoulder, cheeks sparking. He slammed into the nearest grunt and promptly zapped him.

            Maria nodded in approval. "Good! All right, let's get these guys!" She took off down into the crater-filled lake, Prinplup following after her and sending up splashes of mud with each step.

            Scarlet nodded to Sonic. "Come on; Maria's not going to have all the fun to herself."

            Sonic gained a wide grin in agreement. "Nope! She's definitely not gonna hog it!" He blasted into the lake, Scarlet following after him as they circled the lake, hitting multiple grunts with a wave of mud and causing them to start sending out their Pokemon in an effort to stop the Ranger and the hedgehog.

            "Let's see if you can do this!" Sonic started darting all over the place, making it look like he was standing in all sorts of different places at once.

            Scarlet's eyes widened. "What _is_ that? Some kind of Double Team?"

            "Something like that." Sonic came back, grinning. "You gotta run at a specific frequency. See if you can do it!"

            Scarlet stared at the hedgehog for a moment, then gained a wide grin before she started running at random angles, making faces at the Galactic goons that were trying to figure out how to stop her and Sonic.

            "Keep trying!" Sonic called.

            "You stupid PokeMorphs aren't going to be able to stop us!" a goon barked. "You weren't able to stop us when we set off the Galactic Bomb, and you aren't going to be able to do anything to us now!"

            Scarlet snorted. "Galactic Bomb? Really?"

            "You should have been there when Eggman was making stuff," Sonic replied. "His names got to be pretty ridiculous." He looked over at the center of the lake. "It looks like there's some kind of cave over there. Do you think that's what these goons were after?"

            "Maybe." Scarlet looked around. "It looks like that's where Maria and Brendan are heading.

            "We're Team Galactic, the number one syndicate in the world!" a grunt near the cave yelled as Sonic and Scarlet came close. "To defy us is to defy the universe!"

            Maria rolled her eyes in disgust. "Suuure, buddy. What are you going to say next? Something about how the rest of the other syndicates were nothing compared to you?"

            The grunt looked surprised. "Why, yes."

            Maria got up in the grunt's face, holding onto the collar of his uniform. "Well, I'm gonna tell you something, grunt. All of those groups have something in common. Can you guess what that is?"

            The grunt's face hardened. "They were all destroyed."

            "Exactly. And your group isn't much different, because you are going to be stopped." Maria let go of him, letting him fall to the ground. "Make sure you remember that."

            She stomped over to the next grunt, who was standing on the other side of the cave. "And what do _you_ have to say?"

            "If you're here for the lake Pokemon, we've already taken--"

            _Wham!_

            Sonic and Scarlet winced as Maria had Machoke punch the grunt into the rock wall behind him.

            "...it to our headquarters," the grunts wheezed out.

            Maria flicked her wrist, and Rose unleashed a barrage of Magical Leafs that grazed the goon, but didn't hit him.

            "I'm getting the feeling that there's one more Galactic member here." Maria's hand grazed her chest, revealing that there was something under her shirt.

            "If there is, then he's the last one." Tails came up to the group, Gear and Paul hovering behind him as Zap crawled back up onto Scarlet's shoulder. "Those other guys weren't a problem."

            Sonic snorted. "This is nothing compared to what Eggman pulls."

            Maria smirked, then looked over at the cave, the smirk fading a little. "I'm getting the feeling that something big is going to start as soon as we walk in there; possibly even bigger than the Hoenn Trio Incident." She looked pointedly at Brendan. "Are your Pokemon up for a challenge?"

            Pine, who was standing behind Brendan, gave a wide grin. "These guys are nothing, like Sonic said."

            "We took on Aqua and Magma with you as your rival," Brendan added. "These morons are a piece of cake."

            Maria gave a nod, then motioned for the group to follow her into the cave. "Let's hope we're more than prepared."


	20. Chapter 20

**Scarlet's POV**

Inside, the cave smelled damp and definitely looked like it had been flooded at one point. Someone had drilled flood lights into the walls, allowing every nook and cranny to be seen properly. There were these strange markings all over the place, almost as if the place had been inhabited at one point. And the strange thing was that all the markings formed pictures that portrayed...Mobian hedgehogs.

            I stopped in front of the first group -- four blue hedgehogs standing together and laughing, with some sort of small, blue creature with wings and what looked like could have been a discolored Houndour. One of the hedgehogs was definitely familiar.

            Sonic caught me staring and followed my gaze, and his eyes widened. "No way...."

            "What is it?" Maria came over, as did the others of our group. "Oh, hey! These paintings--"

            "It's my family," Sonic said, touching the painting of him on the wall. The others fell silent as he continued speaking, touching each one of the painted hedgehogs in turn. "There's me, my dog Muttski, the Chao Omachao, Uncle Chuck, my mom, and...my dad."

            "Chao?" Brendan looked at the blue thing on the wall, frowning. "I haven't seen one of _those_ before."

            "They were pretty hard to find," Tails commented. "This one just liked Sonic's dad for some reason."

            "Maybe it's because they look so much alike," I commented, looking between the Chao and the oddly metallic-looking hedgehog.

            Maria made an odd noise at that, looking a little pained. "He doesn't look...."

            Sonic and Tails gained grim expressions.

            "Jules didn't _used_ to look like that," Tails said. "After Sonic was born, Jules had an accident in the Great World. The only way to keep him alive was for Uncle Chuck to use one of his inventions. At the time, the Robotosizer was going to be used as a machine of medicine, but...Robotnik decided to mess with it."

            Sonic's fists clenched tightly. "He turned Dad into a mindless robot, and they got Mom after that. Then _Robuttnik_ took over, and he got Unc. I was five when it happened."

            My eyes widened in surprise. Wow. Five years old, and he loses all of his family to a madman? I can't imagine what he must've felt like.

            "But you found them again," Maria stated, motioning to the picture.

            Sonic nodded. "It took years, though. Uncle Chuck was first to come back around. Then, after we had defeated Robotnik and before Eggman came, Mom and Dad came back. Eventually, this alien race called the Bem turned all the Robotosized Mobians, or Robians, back to normal, except for Dad, because he'd die otherwise."

            I couldn't help but stare at Sonic in shock at that. I didn't think that Sonic had been through _that._ It was definitely nothing that I'd be able to compare what I'd been through to.

            And that included getting transformed into a Mobian.

            We moved further into the cave, stopping at another cave painting. This one showed a family of five brown creatures, arranged much like Sonic's family had been.

            Sonic touched the figure in the middle -- obviously female, with auburn hair, blue jacket and matching boots that matched her eyes. "This is Sally Acorn. She and I led the Freedom Fighters against Robuttnik and Eggman."

            My ears twitched when I heard the tone of his voice. There was an odd softness in his voice that made me wonder what she meant to him.

            Sonic caught sight of the expression on my face. "Yeah, Sal and I are -- were -- together." He turned his attention quickly away from Sally, motioning to the others in turn. "That's her brother, Elias, with his wife, Megan, and their daughter, Alexis. And over there is Sal's mom, Alicia. She vanished a while before Robotnik took over; turns out she was put into cryogenic sleep by some echidnas for several years. That's why she looks so young compared to her husband, Max."

            Young was right. Max almost looked like he could be Alicia's father!

            "Max was your king, right?" Maria asked, looking at the old Mobian curiously.

            Sonic nodded, then frowned sadly. "In his last days, he kinda started to slip back. Sal wasn't there when he passed, though, and I wasn't either. I was trying to clear my head before we went after Eggman again."

            We moved to the next picture, which included a hodgepodge of hedgehogs and other creatures in multiple colors. Sonic quickly skimmed over most of them, only giving us names and who they were -- Amy Rose, a pink hedgehog who increased her age using some kind of magic ring because she had a crush on Sonic; Nicole, a computer that was able to create a holographic projection of what Sonic called a lynx; Silver, a time-traveling silver hedgehog who kept coming back from the future to set things right in the past.

            "Who's this last guy?" Brendan pointed at the last hedgehog in the group -- a black one with red highlights in his quills that matched his eyes.

            Maria's eyes widened. "That's the Ultimate Life Form; he shares the nickname 'Faker' with Sonic."

            "Though his real name's Shadow," Sonic explained. "His past is a bit...complicated."

            "Why don't you tell us about it?" I asked.

            Sonic shook his head vigorously, then paused and eventually nodded. "I doubt that Shadow's going to be able to kill me right about now, so I guess it's safe. Shadow was some kind of Overlander experiment or something like that; I ran into him fifty years after he'd been made, when everybody was mistaking him for me." He rolled his eyes and snorted. "Those Overlanders really needed to get their eyes checked."

            "No kidding," Maria agreed, nodding.

            I decided to concentrate on the other thing Sonic had said about Shadow. "He was _made?"_

            "Yeah, by Robuttnik's gramps, but he was a good guy, and he had a granddaughter named Maria, too. I haven't learned much about what happened, but basically this group decided that they were going to stop Kintobor's work, and they invaded the lab. Maria stuck Shadow in stasis and sent him down to Earth, but then she was killed in the process. Then Eggman finds him and convinces Shadow to work with him. We managed to get Shadow turned around, though." Sonic snorted. "Ironically, he works for the same guys who killed Maria now, with a relative of the Egghead's named Hope. She doesn't think of Eggman as her uncle, though."

            The next group of paintings had three weird-looking humans with either orange mustaches _and_ a bald head, or just a bald head. And all three of them looked pretty sinister.

            "Robuttnik, Eggman, Snively," Sonic said, pointing at the two chubby men and the short teenager.

            "Eggman is right!" Brendan let out a short laugh as he looked Robotnik and Eggman up and down with an amused expression on his face. "And you said these guys caused a lot of trouble for you?"

            "Yeah." Tails nodded. "They wanted to take over the world -- if we weren't there to stop them, they would have destroyed all of Mobius in the process! And that would have been a nasty sight."

            "You said it," Sonic agreed, nodding.

            _"Grrrr....."_

            Maria stopped and stiffened when a low growling noise reached our ears. She turned sharply and faced the back of the cave before barking, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

            The growling stopped, and, after a moment, two figures emerged from the shadows at the back of the cave -- a man with blue, crescent-shaped hair and a Galactic uniform, and a Toxicroak.

            "This guy looks like he could be Charon's kid!" I hissed.

            "And who are you?" Brendan asked in a hard voice.

            "I am Saturn," the man replied calmly. He looked in my direction, then back at Maria. "I suppose you are here to try and stop us?"

            "We are _going_ to stop you," Maria corrected.

            "But you are too late. Azelf, the 'Being of Willpower', has already been taken to our headquarters." Saturn looked a little smug. "Now, I am here to stop you from going any further." He pulled out a PokeBall, then paused. "I believe that something else will have the honor." He put the PokeBall away, then snapped his fingers.

            At the sound, a third figure emerged from the shadows that caused all of us to stiffen. I glanced back at the cave paintings we had passed, looking at one in particular as the figure moved to stand beside Saturn.

            "Shadow!" Tails exclaimed.

            I quickly compared the painting to the hedgehog, realizing that the painting didn't do Shadow justice; he looked like he could be the embodiment of darkness. But there was something odd about him, too. It looked like Shadow was sleep-walking, if the lidded eyes and slight swaying were anything to go by.

            Maria let out a low growl. "Hypnosis."

            Her statement caused Brendan to shudder. "Not again...."

            Saturn looked at Tails. "You called him Shadow? That seems to suit him, but what is he a shadow of? I believe the name Darkness fits him much better." He looked at Shadow. "Destroy them."

            Shadow promptly launched himself at Brendan, but then Sonic intercepted the black hedgehog and pushed him away before going after him.

            "Star! Take out that Toxicroak!" Maria released the Staravia, nodding in approval as Star slammed into the Pokemon with an Aerial Ace, knocking out the Toxicroak in one hit.

            Saturn promptly sent out a Zubat. "Your fighting is useless. It won't be long until the whole world - no, the whole universe - bows to our power!"

            "Put a sock in it!" Maria barked back. "You don't think that other groups have tried the same thing? You're not going to win! Brendan -- find the Pokemon that's producing the Hypnosis and knock it into next week!"

            Brendan looked nervous at the order, but he nodded. "Okay. Pine, you heard her!"

            "Yup!" Pine gave his Trainer a salute, then disappeared into the darkness, moving around Sonic and Shadow as they practically bounced around the cave at high speeds. There were a few times that it almost looked like the two of them had turned into spinning saw blades as they rammed into each other.

            Maria let out a squeak as Sparks took out Saturn's Zubat. ""No way...I actually get to see a Spin Dash attack! This is so cool!"

            Saturn let out a growl. "Great. Of all the Trainers out there, we have to fight the one that actually knows about them."

            "Take this! Double Leaf Blade!" Pine roared from the back of the cave. A moment later, there came the sound of a _clang!_ and a dull _whump._

            At the same time, Shadow suddenly stopped moving, only to get kicked in the chest by Sonic, sending the black hedgehog flying into a cave wall.

            "Oops!" Sonic grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Shads!"

            There came a low-voiced grumble as Tails and I came over and joined them -- me more out of curiosity than anything else.

            "Stupid Faker." Shadow glared at Sonic as I blinked at his lower voice. "I thought it was clear that I'd managed to break free."

            "Probably only because of Brendan's Sceptile," I responded. "It sounded like there were two Pokemon back there."

            "Yeah." Pine emerged from the back of the cave, dragging a Kadabra by his tail and carrying a Bronzor. "Nothing I couldn't handle, though."

            Shadow stared -- well, more like _glared_ \-- at Pine before he turned his attention to me, and his gaze hardened. "You."

            "What about me?" I asked.

            "You're the human that was turned into a Mobian by those freaks, right?" He motioned to Saturn, who was now up against the wall, trying to avoid getting shocked by Sparks.

            I nodded. "Charon's an idiot to have done that."

            Shadow considered my words. "That depends on what you think of him."

            "I've got bad first impressions."

            "And so do I." The dark hedgehog motioned to the blue-haired Galactic idiot. "Would you believe he's the scientist's grandson?"

            "I would believe it," I admitted.

            "Because he was the one who found Charon's next guinea pig."

            Maria looked in our direction and frowned. "You mean there's another human turned Mobian running around?"

            "Not quite. Before that thing got me, they were trying to figure out how she kept getting out of Charon's lab. I was simply watching from the shadows, and I took note that the kid kept releasing bursts of Chaos Energy whenever they found her."

            "Are you saying that this whoever she is has a connection with the Chaos Force?" Sonic asked.

            Shadow nodded. "I managed to teach her a few things, too, before Saturn got me."

            "And how'd he manage to do that?" Sonic asked, smirking. "I didn't think that anyone would be able to sneak up on you, much less take control of you like that."

            There came a low growl from the back of the cave, and a large dog with black and gray fur and red eyes emerged from the shadows. "Don't talk about him like that unless you've been in _his_ shoes."

            "Snarl, stand down," Shadow said without looking back at the Mighteyna. "For now."

            Snarl growled, but he sat down next to Shadow, glaring at us menacingly.

            Maria walked over, leaving Sparks to keep Saturn occupied. "I guess you've found a Pokemon to partner up with, like Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. It looks like he's been well taken care of." She paused, then held out a hand, adding, "My name's Maria White. I'm a Trainer of Pokemon, so I tend to notice things like that."

            Shadow looked up at Maria for a moment, then shook her hand, giving her a curt nod.

            "And these are my friends Brendan and his Sceptile, Pine, and you've already met Ranger Scarlet and her Pachirisu, Zap." Maria motioned to each of us in turn.

            Shadow was looking around at each of us when Saturn suddenly burst out laughing, making us all stiffen and turn and glare at the Galactic Commander.

            "Mars and Jupiter have probably already moved the mirage Pokemon from their lakes by now!" Saturn crowed. "You're too late! The world is ours!"

            "Can it, crescent-head!" Maria snapped. She turned and looked at the others. "We have to get to the other lakes as soon as possible. If they have the Pokemon that was supposed to be sleeping here now, who knows how close they are to the others?"

            "So let's stop talking and get moving!" I replied.

            "She's almost as impatient as you, Faker." Shadow shook his head at me. It almost felt like he was... _amused._

            "Who are you calling Faker, Faker?" Sonic retorted.

            Shadow sighed. "I have no time for this." He reached into his head quills and brought out a large green gem that was cut like a diamond. "Chaos Control!"

            The resulting green flash momentarily blinked me, and when I'd regained my sight, I noticed that Shadow and Snarl were gone.

            Sonic stared at where Shadow had been standing with surprise and shock. "He actually managed to _find_ a Chaos Emerald?"

            "Wait - _that_ was a Chaos Emerald?" Brendan asked.

            Maria started to look increasingly excited. "Cool! If Shadow's got one, there may be others here, too!"

            "What's a Chaos Emerald?" I asked, confused.

            "We'll tell you on the way to Lake Verity," Tails replied. "Come on; let's head back to the plane and leave that guy alone." He motioned to Saturn, who had strangely collapsed -- probably because of the Electric-Type attacks Sparks had been using to keep in in place.

            Maria nodded. "Sparks, return. We've got to head home."

            The Luxray vanished into the little red and white sphere, and we left the cave quickly, heading back to the beach -- and Tails' plane.

**Spacial Break**

            "What?!" Charon yelled into his silver PokeGear. "The PokeMorph _teleported_ away?"

            The speaker crackled with static. _::Wasn't that what I said?::_ Saturn demanded, annoyed. _::I'm lucky I saw even that over the Trainer's Luxray. It just pulled a green gem out of its hair and vanished. The blue creature called it a 'Chaos Emerald'. Do you have any idea what those are?::_

            "I believe I do. They're seven gems said to contain unlimited power, but very few could actually gain access to them. Darkness was one such PokeMorph."

            _::Grandfather, Darkness isn't his real name. It's Shadow, apparently. I heard the mutated yellow Vulpix-PokeMorph say that::_

            "Shadow? A shadow of what?"

_::I asked the same thing, but they ignored my question::_ Saturn paused. _::Grandfather, do you think we could harness these gems?::_

            "Hmm... It is possible, but we would need to construct a machine that could withstand the gem's power and absorb it, rather than explode. Let me know if you find any unusually large gems with a diamond cut."

            As Charon hung up on his grandson, he looked around his lab, glancing momentarily at the burned out monitors overlooking a glowing blue capsule, then the cage that some grunts had managed to get into a corner of the room. He walked over to look inside, just to make sure that the occupant was still there.

            Inside the cage, a PokeMorph was sitting in a corner, her knees tucked against her chest. Her fur could be easily referred to as a red violet or a magenta except for the peach-colored patches, and her eyes were a deep forest green. This PokeMorph, also like Scarlet, did wear clothing, but with a different color scheme -- her fingerless gloves were white with red-and-black-striped rings, her jacket was pink, and her shoes were black with red flames on the sides. The PokeMorph herself had spines and dreadlocks, but the color on the dreadlocks started as magenta, but they darkened to red, then to black at the tips.

            Charon wasn't quire sure if the coloring was normal for the PokeMorph, but then again, he was combining multiple ancient strands of DNA together.

            _FWASH!_

            Charon turned sharply when a bright flash suddenly filled his lab, and his eyes widened when he saw what had just happened -- or, rather, who had just returned. He quickly reigned in his surprise and started rubbing his hands together eagerly. "Well, I didn't expect _you_ to come back. Are you willing to accept my offer?"

            Shadow's eyes narrowed in response as Snarl started growling.

            Charon actually felt a little nervous as the PokeMorph continued to glare at him. "O-oh, I see. W-well, is there a reason that you decided to return?"

            Both of Shadow's hands started to glow an eerie green. "Chaos Spear!"

            _BAM!_

            Charon stumbled back in shock as both the burned out machine and the cage were slashed through with the spear-shaped blast of energy, leaving the girl PokeMorph and what had been inside the capsule unharmed.

            Shadow picked up a blue gem from the wreckage of the capsule, then turned to glare at Charon. "How long have you had this?"

            "Not long after we found you," Charon replied simply. "Now, would you mind giving me that back?"

            Shadow's grip on the gem tightened. "Chaos Emeralds do not belong to the likes of you; if anything, they should be stored away where no one can find them." He reached into the cage and pulled out the magenta-colored PokeMorph, who looked up at him a little fearfully. Holding the girl by the arm, Shadow held up the blue gem and yelled, "Chaos Control!"

            _FWASH!_

            Charon winced as the flash hurt his eyes. He glared disapprovingly at where Shadow had been standing a moment ago, then sighed and put his head in his hands.

            Charon sighed and put his head in his hands. His time with Team Galactic wasn't going very well at all. Within a matter of days he had lost two experiments and a wild PokeMorph, not to mention a power source that could have kept his machines working off the grid for beyond anyone's lifetime.

            "It's amazing, how you can't hold onto anything for very long," remarked a voice from the door.

            Charon looked up sharply, his eyes widening when he saw Cyrus standing in the door of his lab.

Charon looked up as Cyrus continued, "You had better hope that you can still provide some assistance to us, Charon." He turned to leave, then paused. "Saturn was successful in capturing the Being of Willpower. The others should soon follow. Why don't you make sure that the machine actually works?" With that cold statement, his boss left.

            Charon sighed, then moved to the next room, where the machine his grandson had put together was whirring softly. Already, one of the three capsules in the middle of the room was occupied with a Pokemon - specifically, a small Pokemon with two tails and a head with three blue, rounded spikes coming out of its head. The Pokemon Azelf, otherwise known as the Being of Willpower, was already starting to create the ancient relic that Team Galactic needed...


	21. Chapter 21

            As Tails' plane and the Pokemon landed in Twinleaf Town, the residents came out and watched in surprise as Maria, Brendan, Sonic, Scarlet, Tails, Gear, and Zap got off their Pokemon and the Tornado, respectively.

            A woman with dark blue hair, blue eyes, and in a red and white dress approached the group. "Maria? What's going on? Are these Pokemon? Or are they...?"

            Maria smiled at the woman. "They are, Mom."

            Sonic caught sight of Mrs. White's eyes widening, and he smirked. "Yo. Which way to Lake Verity?"

            Mrs. White pointed down the path that led out of town. "It will be to your right," she said, bewildered.

            "Thanks!" Sonic and Paul took off, Tails, Gear, Brendan, Pine, Scarlet, and Zap not very far behind.

            "We'll try to explain everything once we get back," Maria told her mother.

            Mrs. White quickly regained her composure and gave a nod, fixing her daughter with a determined glare. "I'll be holding you to that."

            Maria gave a nod in response, then turned and ran out of town, Prinplup following on her heels.

            _"ST. JOHN!!"_

            Maria came skidding to a halt as the others screeched to a halt ahead of her.

            "St. John?" Maria blinked. "Why is Knuckles yelling that?"

            "I'll give you three guesses," Sonic replied, looking back at Maria. "Come on!" He promptly charged ahead through the trees and into the clearing beyond.

            Maria arrived at the edge of Lake Verity just as she saw Knuckles punch what looked like a skunk Mobian into a tree.

            Sonic let out a low growl. "I should've known that I would smell a skunk! St. John!"

            The skunk rose to his feet and gave Sonic a weary look. "Oh, great; it's you." He turned and barked, "Skuntank, Acid Spray!"

            "Gear!" Tails motioned the Klink forward, and the Steel-Type instantly countered with a Mirror Shot that caused Skuntank's attack to veer off target and hit a tree.

            "Vent, Force Palm the stinker!" Knuckles ordered, motioning to the Riolu.

            "Right!" Vent suddenly slammed into Skuntank from the side, causing it to go flying into a tree just like the Mobian had.

            Sonic glared at the skunk Mobian. "Geoffrey St. John, you'd better have a good explanation," he growled. "What are you doing here?"

            "I'm making my mark on this world, that's what I'm doing," the skunk replied coldly. He turned around and called, "Mars, they're here!"

            A group of grunts suddenly leapt out at them, releasing their Pokemon, but Maria and the others quickly countered them with her own teams and sent the grunts scurrying, leaving the path open for Maria to go straight to Mars, who was standing at the edge of the lake glaring down at Lucas, who looked rather battered.

            "Hey!" Maria barked as she came to a stop. "How about you pick on someone your own strength level, huh?!"

            Mars turned sharply at Maria's voice, and she let out a hiss. "That face! It brings back bad memories!"

            "Of what?" Sonic raised an eyebrow

            "I'm talking about the Windworks!" Mars snapped in reply. "I caught a whole lot of trouble for the little incident. You're going down for that! Golbat!"

            "I think you're the one who's going down for that!" Maria barked in reply as she tossed a PokeBall. "Sparks, let's go! Take down that stupid bat!"

            _That_ got on both Mars' and Golbat's nerves, as they both bristled as the Luxray exploded out of her PokeBall before slamming into the bat Pokemon, electricity zapping off in branches and giving the air an after-smell of ozone. As she jumped back, the Golbat fell to the ground limply, sparks flying from the Pokemon's wings.

            Scarlet watched Maria tackle the Galactic Commander, noticing that the Trainer was gritting her teeth and had a fire in her eyes that clearly seemed to say that she wasn't planning on stepping down.

            "I will have my revenge!" Mars declared as she switched out a fainted Bronzor for a Purugly.

            Scarlet's ears flicked back a little as she remembered the last time that she had seen a Purugly -- in the Galactic Headquarters, when she was escaping from Charon.

            "You want revenge?" Maria gained a wide grin. "Machoke, give her what she's asking for!"

            The Fighting-Type let out a roar in response, slamming into Purugly with enough force to send her flying into a tree, knocking her out cold in one hit.

            Mars stared in shock at Maria and the Machoke, then let out a growl as she recalled her Pokemon. "First at the Windworks, and now at Lake Verity! This shouldn't be happening to Team Galactic's Commander..." She started to take deep breaths in order to keep herself from lunging at Maria and attempting to strangle her. "My mission was to transport the lake Pokemon to our HQ, and that went without a hitch. Team, we're pulling out! The boss is waiting for us at the HQ." Glaring at the group around her, she stated, "The three Pokemon of the lakes are connected somehow. Thanks to Saturn's grandstanding at Lake Valor, a cavern appeared here. It was the cavern where the Pokemon Mesprit slept. Mesprit appeared, too, probably to help out its friends." Mars grinned mischievously. "That made it very easy for us to catch it. So, now that we've got them all, our plans will work out for our benefit! Just try and stop us now!"

            With that, Mars ran off, followed by the grunts, Geoffrey St. John, and his Skuntank.

            "Lucas!" Maria ran over to her fellow Trainer, concerned. "Are you all right? Where's Kate and Lucia? And Professor Rowan?"

            "The Professor went to Sandgem, to make sure that Team Galactic hadn't tried to break in." Lucas winced as Maria rested a hand on his bruised shoulder. "Kate and Lucia managed to get the attention of a Golduck and went to inspect the cave over there." He pointed across the water of the lake to the island that was in the middle.

            Maria looked over, frowning. "That wasn't there the first day that Barry and I started on our journey...."

            Four figures emerged from the cave -- Kate, Lucia, and two Golduck. They were back over on the edge of the lake in seconds.

            "What happened?" Kate demanded. "We heard Knuckles' roar and Mars' yelling."

            "They've made off with the lake Pokemon already," Lucas replied, a worried expression on his face. "Maria, did they--"

            Maria bowed her head and nodded slightly. "Yeah. Some guy named Saturn got the Pokemon away before we even got to the cave."

            "We should probably meet with Professor Rowan and let him know what happened." Brendan came over and helped Lucas to his feet, the Sinnoh Trainer wincing a little at the movement. "Where's your home, Lucas?"

            "It's in Sandgem," Lucas replied. "My dad's one of Rowan's aides."

            Brendan looked impressed. "Really? Then he's probably at his lab right now, right?"

            "Probably, yeah."

            "You guys go to Rowan and tell him what's going on," Maria said, nodding to Brendan and Lucas. "I'm going to head back to my house and let Mom know what's going on. Besides, I'm pretty sure she's curious about you guys." She nodded to Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. "Mom _was_ the one who got me interested in researching the ruins scattered around the world."

            The three Mobians looked at each other at that.

            "We aren't going to be sticking around for long," Maria added quickly. "I just want Mom to make sure she knows I'm all right before we head north. And she's got some of my winter clothes, and I'm going to need that where we're going."

            "Well, so long as we're quick," Sonic said. "The time we spend _not_ going after these guys could make all the difference."

            "I agree." Maria nodded, then started walking away from the lake. The others followed after her, then split into two groups: Lucas and Brendan went to Sandgem to talk to Professor Rowan, and the rest of them went back to Twinleaf.

            "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Mom tries to act like one of those helicopter parents over all of us," Maria warned as she led them over to one of the houses. "She knows I can handle myself, but she still worries, you know?"

            Sonic shrugged. "Yeah, I get the feeling. But we've been through worse. Haven't we, guys?"

            Tails and Knuckles both nodded in agreement.

            "Compared to Eggman, these guys are nothing!" Tails declared.

            _Ssshring!_

            Everyone turned sharply when they heard the sound of metal screeching against metal, eyes widening when they saw that Gear was _glowing_ and changing shape.

            "Klang!" Gear declared as the light faded, revealing that he now had more spinning gears.

            "Cool!" Maria exclaimed. "You evolved!"

            "Wow!" Tails looked over Gear with an amazed expression. "This is amazing! I wonder if you're going to evolve again!"

            Gear made a metallic noise that made it seem like the Pokemon was pleased, causing Maria to chuckle.

            "If we keep going like this, he might." Maria motioned back towards the house they had been heading towards. "Come on; I may as well get Mom introduced properly to you guys."

**Maria's POV**

            As we walked into my house, I watched the looks on my friends' faces as they looked around at what decorated my home: Gym Badges, Battle Frontier wallpapers, pictures of me with the Champions and Gym Leaders, and other friends I'd made in Kanto, Jhoto, and Hoenn. I even had one of Steven, who liked to hide out in Meteor Falls.

            "Who are all of these people?" Tails asked in amazement.

            "They're all the Gym Leaders, Champions, and Frontier Brains of the regions I've been in already," I explained. "The Indigo Plateau League from Kanto, the Ever Grande League from Hoenn, the Mt. Silver League from Jhoto, and the Battle Frontier - both Hoenn and Jhoto -- and the friends and rivals I've had over the years." I motioned to each of the pictures in turn.

            "Not all of them, though." Mom came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel.

            "Right." I nodded, knowing what Mom was getting at. I couldn't help but grin as she looked at Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails with curious expressions.

            "I suppose these three are the Blur, the Avatar, and the Chosen One?" Mom looked at me with a curious look.

            I nodded. "Their real names are Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, though. The Ultimate Life Form and... _Le Pew..._ are in the area, too, but one's working on his own and the other one's running around with Team Galactic."

            Mom gained a disgusted expression while Knuckles looked surprised.

            "You actually saw Shadow." Knuckles looked at Sonic, raising an eyebrow.

            "Yup."

            "He Chaos Controlled away from Lake Valor with the green Chaos Emerald," Tails explained. "He also mentioned something about how there was a Mobian at the Galactic HQ, being held against her will."

            Mom gained a startled expression at that, then noticed Scarlet standing nearby, frowning. "And...who might you be? I don't recall anyone looking like you in the ancient stories."

            "I'm Ranger Scarlet," Scarlet replied. "I used to be human, but some guy named Charon turned me into this." She motioned to her body. "The Mobian Shadow mentioned is going through the same thing."

            Mom stared at Scarlet, then looked at me. "Tell me everything."

            I nodded, then sat down on the red couch we had in the living room. Mom and Kate sat on either side of me, and everyone else sat on the floor in a half-circle around our feet as I started to explain about my run-ins with Team Galactic -- starting with the Valley Windworks. Scarlet and the others jumped in occasionally to tell their sides of the story and fill in any missing pieces that I might have missed. By the time I was done, Mom definitely looked concerned.

            "I didn't think that Team Galactic would cause this much trouble," Mom commented, frowning. "Especially since we've faced so much trouble from other teams already."

            I nodded. "I know. And I'm not planning on letting them see their plans through -- whatever they are."

            Mom nodded in agreement, then looked over at Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. "So, what about our ancient past? I only know bits and pieces and, to be honest, I'd like to know more."

            "Now?" Sonic frowned.

            "I know you're in a hurry." Mom send me a quick glance, then added, "Just a summary would be fine for now."

            Sonic looked uncomfortable with the idea of staying put for so long, but after exchanging looks with Knuckles and Tails, he gave a nod.

            What followed after that was a quick skimming of the tale that I'd heard back in Canalave, covering the Xorda, the rise of the Mobians, and the start of the Great War. Knuckles added then that his own people had faced some problems with an echidna named Dimitri, who had absorbed power from Chaos Emeralds and turned himself into a monster named Enerjak -- a title that made Knuckles rather...uneasy, actually.

            And then they got into the rise of Kintobor, or Robotnik.

            "In the Kingdom of Acorn, our Warlord, Kodos, vanished, only to be replaced by an Overlander named Julian Ivo Kintobor," Tails said, picking up where Knuckles had left off. "Uncle Chuck and Jules had saved his life from his own kind early on in the war; we don't know the full details, but it's been said that Julian was committing crimes by using his fellow species for illegal experiments."

            Mom flinched a little; she knew what was coming. "Was that the Eggman?"

            Sonic shook his head. "That guy comes later. This one's Robuttnik -- the guy who tampered with Uncle Chuck's machine and turned my and Tails' family into robots. He took over when I was five, and everybody who wasn't caught and turned into a robot made a run for the Great Forest, where Knothole Village was located. After that, my friends and I - Tails was nothing more than a baby then - started to head out under the grown-ups noses and stop Robuttnik our own way. At first, it was just a couple Badnik robots here and there - BuzzBombers, Motobugs, etc. Then we started to do bigger things as we got older - take out bot factories, for instance. Eventually, Uncle Chuck got his free will back because of some sort of accident, and then Muttski, my dog, joined up, too. With their help, we started to do even more."

            "And then you had to go and get yourself robotosized," Knuckles growled.

            "Hey! It wasn't my fault! Nack hit me over the head with a dumbbell and then took me to Robuttnik," Sonic shot back.

            "We heard about that," I recalled. "The ruins called it the Mecha Madness Saga."

            "Mecha Madness is right," Knuckles remarked. "They had to call me in and eventually turn me into a robot momentarily in order to stop him. Our fight took out a lot of Robotropolis, though." The echidna chuckled. "He should've known better than to store nuclear warheads in his own city."

            "And do you remember the earthquake?" Tails asked. "Man, I didn't think that you and Sally would actually manage to make it out alive, Sonic."

            "Sally?" Mom repeated, frowning.

            "The Princess," I explained. "You remember - the whole boyfriend/girlfriend situation with Sonic and her?"

            Sonic blushed tremendously.

            "Sorry to cut in," Kate spoke up, "but do you guys have any idea yet as to what brought you here?"

            Tails shrugged. "As if we even know. All I recall is a blast of Chaos Energy coming from out of nowhere and sending me to the Unova region."

            I looked at my mother. "Remind me to take a trip there once I'm done here. It sounds like a cool place."

            "It was the same sort of situation for me," Sonic added. "I was running in the Great Forest, and then I suddenly there's this flash of Chaos Energy, and then there are these huge wasps all over the place!"

            "Those were probably Beedril," I commented. "They're the pests of Kanto, especially in their forests."

            "Yeah, that was probably them."

            Knuckles shrugged. "I was guarding the Master Emerald when it suddenly glowed a bright white. Next thing I knew, I was in some sort of forest, being chased by these guys with green wigs."

            "Speaking of them, what happened at Lake Verity?" Scarlet inquired. "We heard you roar loudly not long after we landed here in Twinleaf."

            Knuckles gained a scowl on his face. "By the time that we got there, they were pulling collapsible boats up onto the bank, and Mars had sent what Kate said was a Kadabra off somewhere with another Pokemon. I could hear a few of the grunts talking about all the paintings on the walls, too. As soon as they saw me, a couple of them thought that they'd disturbed some kind of spirit or something." He snorted.

            "That's probably because there were echidnas painted all over the cave walls," Kate said.

            Lucia nodded in agreement. _"There was a pink one standing next to you with machines covering one of her dreadlocks."_

            Knuckles jolted at that, then shook his head. "They weren't _covering_ them, she'd had it _added."_

"So, you know that echidna?" I asked, blinking.

            Knuckles nodded, looking a little sour. "That's Julie-Su. She's...well, she _was_ my Soulmate, which is an important thing in our culture. Unfortunately, she had connections with the Dark Egg Legion -- a group of Echidnas who worked for Eggman." He shook his head. "Anyway, Lucas tried to battle Mars, but failed against that Purugly of hers. I was about to step in and do something about it myself, but _that skunk_ decided to show up. Then you guys came in and...you know the rest."

As I nodded, Mom asked, "What now?"

            "Now, we go to Lake Acuity," I replied. "Barry's up there, and we need to go make sure he's all right. Who knows what Jupiter may have done to him?"

            "Jupiter?" Scarlet repeated. "What makes you think _she's_ the one up there?"

            I paused, blinking. _How had_ that _managed to slip out?_ I quickly came up with an explanation. "Well, Mars said there were four Commanders counting herself and Charon; Saturn and Jupiter round the group out. So Jupiter's probably the one who's trying to get the last lake Pokemon right now." I got off the couch and turned to look at Mom. "I'm going to need my winter stuff. It'll take a few days, but I'll make sure to call you when we get to Snowpoint."

            Mom nodded. "I was starting to wonder, so I got you some new winter clothes. I'll go up and get them." She disappeared upstairs and returned a moment later with an open box. On top of it was a bright red coat that had the cobalt, saw-blade insignia sown into the back of it.

            I grabbed the box. "Thanks, Mom. I don't know what I would do without you sometimes."

            Mom smiled at the compliment. "Just be safe, honey. I don't want you coming back here in pieces."

            I smiled. "Right. Come on, guys; we need to fly to Celestic Town to get to Mt. Coronet."

            "We should probably let Brendan and Lucas know where we're going," Tails pointed out. "Brendan might want to come with us."

            "Maybe." I nodded in agreement. "Lucas definitely won't be going anywhere for a while, what with those injuries of his."

            "I'm definitely going to have to keep moving." Knuckles clenched his fists. "If there's at least one Chaos Emerald here, the others might be, too -- and the Master Emerald, which is my responsibility."

            "We should go our own path," Lucia muttered, causing Vent to stiffen.

            Kate nodded in agreement. "Yeah; it is time we split up." She looked over at Vent. "We're going to see about finding your dad. It probably means you won't be seeing us for a while."

            Vent started to stutter a little, but before he could actually form a word in edgewise, his mother and the Pokemon Ranger were out of the house.


	22. Chapter 22

**Luke's POV**

            I watched as Vent tried to stop his mom from leaving, but they were gone before he could say anything that might convince her or the Ranger to stay. Then I forced the PokeBall open from the inside, just as I heard Maria mutter something I didn't quite catch. She looked a little worried.

            Knuckles knelt down in front of Vent. "It's obvious that they trust you enough to go out on your own. I once was put into the same sort of situation."

            Vent looked at him sharply, anger in his eyes. "There's no way that you know what it's like!" Then he ran out the door without another word.

            I looked up at my Trainer, who looked back down at me with loving eyes - the kind of eyes an adoptive mother might have.

            "You're worried about him, aren't you, Luke?" Maria asked.

            I nodded. "Yeah. Do you think he will be all right?"

            "He took it pretty hard," Sonic noted. "I don't know if he'll even come back."

            Knuckles looked very concerned. "What am I going to tell Lucia when she comes back with Kate and Vent's gone?"

            "Maybe I should go look for him!" I suggested. "We are both Riolu, after all. Maybe I can get him to come back."

            Maria smiled. "MAybe, but that all depends on what you say to him. Keep that in mind, Luke. If you find him, bring him around to Lake Verity. I've got an idea, but I'm going to need your help, Sonic."

            "Mine?" the blue hedgehog repeated. "Why?"

            "I'll explain as we go," Maria replied. Looking at me, she told me, "You'd better hurry up and find him, Luke."

            I nodded, then ran out the door after Vent. Eventually, I managed to catch up with him, but he was almost to Sandgem.

            "Hey, wait up!" I called.

            Vent turned to face me. I could tell he had been crying, because there were tears on his cheeks. "What do you want?"

            "I just wanted to talk," I replied.

            "About what? You don't know what I'm going through; you didn't grow up with your parents."

            "Maybe not, but my Trainer and Sonic might know something. Why don't we go and hear them out?"

            Vent considered my statement. "Why should I?" he finally asked.

            "It wouldn't hurt all that much to listen, I don't think," I pointed out. "If you don't like what they have to say, then you can go your own way, right?"

            Vent shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. Where are they?"

            "Maria said she was going to Lake Verity," I explained. "Come on; let's go."

            We ran to the Lake by our own, hidden route; one that the humans didn't know about or couldn't reach. When we got there, Sonic and Paul were waiting for us at the lakefront.

            "Maria's waiting for you guys in there," Sonic explained, pointing to the rock in the middle of the lake.

            "Sonic and I had to wait because Maria wanted to make sure you knew where we were," Paul added. "Hop on."

            We climbed onto Paul's soft, feathery back and flew over the lake. Then Paul had to turn around and get Sonic, because he's weak to water. I wonder if he's part Ground or part Fire?

            When we got inside the cave, I marveled at all of the pictures on the walls. There were ones with Knuckles in them all over the place! Vent didn't seem to like that very much, but he withstood the urge to run out. Maria was waiting for us at the other end of the cave, observing what looked like a family picture.

            She turned around and smiled at us. "Hey, there, guys. Thanks for getting here so quickly."

            "That's just because Paul's so fast," I remarked.

            "And he's going to get faster," Sonic added.

            Maria laughed. "That's good to hear." She looked over at Vent. "I know you're feeling upset about your mom leaving you like that, Vent."

            Vent nodded, a stern look on his face. I kind of wanted to hug him, but I didn't know whether or not he would punch me in the face.

            Maria motioned to the cave wall behind her. "There's a story written here in ancient runes, one that I've run into only a couple of times. I'm going to read it to you guys, mostly because it concerns Knuckles and that statement he had made earlier."

            I sat down rather quickly, eager for a story. Vent, after a moment, sat down next to me.

            Maria then started to tell us about Knuckles' history - how, after he was born, his dad started educating him in the family job, but his mom wanted him to lead a normal life. So they split: Locke, Knuckles' father, continuing the boy's education, and mom leaving for a great big city to find someone else to live with. Then, when Knuckles was about seven years old, Locke took him to the edge of Angel Island's Forbidden Zone, and left, just like that. Knuckles then had to live for a long time before he saw his dad again, because he thought that Locke was dead. During that time, he met Sonic and his friends, as well as some group called the Chaotix, who helped him do his job. After a few years, Locke showed himself again, and the two echidna had a family reunion type of thing. After a few years, though, something really bad happened, causing Knuckles to turn bad.

            Vent stopped Maria's story at that point. "Knuckles isn't bad! How could you say he went bad?"

            "I'll take it from here, Maria," Sonic said. Looking at Vent, he explained, "There's this ancient echidna god, called Enerjak. This guy is the bad type, and he can take over anybody - or be anybody who's absorbed a lot of Chaos Energy. That kind of happened to Knuckles by accident, all thanks to this evil, white echidna only known as Dr. Finetivus. This guy put a hex on the Master Emerald, and tricked Knux into trying to absorb its energy, only to have the hex turn him into Enerjak and send him rampaging around. I turned into Super Sonic using the Master Emerald to try and stop him."

            "That was one part of the story that I never understood," Maria spoke up. "How is it that you were able to do that without activating the hex on yourself? You should've turned into something _like_ Enerjak, right?"

            Sonic shrugged. "I'm not quite sure how I bypassed it, either. Neither was Tails' uncle, Merlin. Anyway, while I was fighting Enerjak and trying to turn him back to normal, Finetivus told Locke that the only way to turn Knux back to normal was to give up someone's life to lift the hex. A lot of people volunteered, but it ended up being Locke who got up on the Master Emerald and vanished into the Chaos Force. Knuckles still beats himself up about it, thinking it was his fault, but we all know he wasn't himself when it happened. Besides, my uncle kind of felt the same way about being forced to robotosize so many innocent Mobians when he was under Robuttnik's control. He's gotten over it, though...mostly."

            "What about Knuckles?" Vent asked. "Has he left it behind?"

            Sonic shrugged. "Who knows? That echidna isn't easy to read."

            Vent looked a little worried. "Do you think I might have hurt his feelings when I ran out like that?"

            "Well, he walked out into the woods and asked that everyone leave him alone for a while," Paul recalled. "I think I know where he is. C'mon."

            We left the cave, and after returning to the lakefront, Paul led us to a nearby clearing, where Knuckles was looking around with a determined look on his face. He was looking for Vent, too.

            Maria looked at Vent. "Go on," she said softly. "You know what to do, now."

            Vent nodded and crept over to where Knuckles was standing, trying not to get the echidna's attention. He ended up getting it anyway because the grass crunching under his feet gave him away, and Knuckles turned sharply and looked down at Vent.

            Vent fidgeted under Knuckles' gaze for a moment, then looked up at him and said reluctantly, "Maria and Sonic told me about your dad."

            Knuckles stiffened, but he said nothing.

            "I'm...sorry I ran off like that." Vent looked away from Knuckles. "And...that I didn't believe you before."

            Knuckles hesitated, but then got down into a crouch and placed one of his hands on Vent's shoulder. "It's all right; I felt just as shaken after...y'know."

            Vent nodded, then suddenly started to glow. Knuckles moved his arm away as Vent grew in size, becoming taller than Knuckles was. When Vent stopped glowing, I let out a gasp.

            Vent wasn't a Riolu anymore. He was a Lucario.

            My Trainer let out a gasp as well. "Their bond is that deep..." she murmured. "I wonder how strong Vent is now? What do you think his level is, Paul?"

            "I'd have to say...about 30," Paul remarked.

            "Try 33," Knuckles corrected, turning around with a large grin on his face. Vent turned around and looked at us, too. "If you're going to try anything like that again, Maria, warn me about it, first."

            Maria nodded. "Sure, Knux; I was planning on doing that anyway, but I figured that it might me a good idea to talk to Vent without really getting you involved."

            "Yeah, yeah, sure. Just don't try to surprise me when I'm in a mood like that or worse, or you might get a knuckle sandwich. You get me?"

            "We get ya," Sonic confirmed. He looked at Maria. "So, when are we leaving for Snowpoint?"

            "Right now, if you want to," Maria replied with a grin.

            "Then let's get going already! Race ya to your place!"

**Scarlet's POV**

            While Maria and the others were out, I decided to try and contact my family. Seeing Maria interact with her mom reminded me of mine, and a nagging thought at the back of my head started to bother me. Mrs. White, who seemed to note that something was bugging me, suggested that I disappear into one of the guest bedrooms in order to think things through. Even moms that aren't related to you care about you.

            When I had found the guest bedroom, I closed the door, sat on the bed, and pulled out my PokeGear. I hadn't taken the time to record the home phone in the speed dial, but I figured that now would be a good time as any. Just to be safe, I added the area code, too.

            I called the home phone, and waited while the phone rang on the other end. On the third tone, someone picked it up.

            _::Hello?::_ a familiar voice asked. _::Who is this?::_

            I let out a sigh of relief, glad that I had actually remembered the phone number correctly. "Hi, Mom. It's me, Scarlet."

            There was silence on the other side of the phone. A moment later, I heard the cries of all my Partner Pokemon's voices; no doubt mom had taken the phone outside to Partner Farm.

            _::Honey!::_ Mom called.

            _::What is it, Lavender?::_ asked another voice; my dad.

            _::Guess who's on the phone. You can start talking whenever you want; the phone's on speaker::_

            "Hey, Dad!" I practically yelled into the PokeGear.

            _::Scarlet!::_ Dad exclaimed. _::You're alive!::_

            "Of course I am!" I replied. "Nothing like a coma's going to keep me down."

            _::Where are you right now, dear?::_ Mom asked. _::We haven't heard from you ever since you were taken to the Ranger Union for medical care. We heard that you'd been kidnapped::_

"I'm in the Sinnoh region right now," I explained. "Woke up about three or four days back. I'm in Twinleaf Town now."

_::We have to go let Hastings and the others know about this::_ Dad remarked. _::Zap is going to be very happy about this::_

            "Actually, Hastings already knows. Zap, too, as well as my Ranger friends."

            There was silence on the other end. : _:What happened, Scarlet?::_ Dad asked wearily. He could tell that something was up _._ _::Start from the beginning::_

            "You're probably not going to believe some of this," I warned. "Here's what happened: I woke up in Veilstone City in an evil organization's building as a PokeMorph."

            _::PokeMorph?:_ : Mom repeated. : _:I hope you aren't pulling anything::_

            "I'm telling the truth," I affirmed. "You can contact Hastings later to double-check on this; we video chatted via Professor Rowan's system. Anyway, I got out of there, ran down to Sandgem, talked to Hastings, then went to Eternia, where I met up with Maria, a Trainer around here who has been contacting Team Galactic - that's the group that turned me into a PokeMorph - and I've been traveling around with her ever since."

            _::When you say Maria, do you mean Maria White?::_ Dad inquired. _::The Triple Champion?::_

            "Yeah; that's her."

_::You're lucky you found her, rather than someone else::_ Dad said, hinting at one of my enemies.

            "I think Mr. Kincaid is still in jail, Dad," I said calmly. "Besides, I can defend myself - Hastings had Zap sent over a couple days ago, and Maria and I have found a few friends."

            _::We did hear that Kate and Kellyn were out::_ Mom admitted. _::Have they found you yet?::_

            "Yup; Maria's friend Brendan is in the area, too. Same with a Trainer named Black, who's from Unova. And then there are the four others we can trust..."

            _::Others?::_ Dad asked darkly.

            "Yeah. You guys remember the history show that Magenta decided to watch about a year or so back?"

            _::You mean the lunatic who kept talking about emeralds, alternate dimensions and Pokemon that are human?::_ Dad guessed.

            "Yeah. The legends are real."

            During another bout of silence on the other side of the line, a thought occurred to me. "Hey, where is Magenta, anyway? Isn't she out on the Partner Farm, taking care of all the Pokemon?"

            The silence lasted for a moment longer. Then Dad sighed and said, _::She's gone, Scarlet::_

            "Gone?" I frowned. "What do you mean, gone?"

            _::She vanished a few days back::_ Mom explained. _::We've contacted the Rangers, but they haven't come up with anything::_

            I stiffened. "Oh, no. I hope that idiot hasn't gone after her again."

            _::All of Dim Sun is under police custody::_ Dad stated. _::It's not them::_

_::Do you think the same person who took off with you could have her, too?::_ Mom asked, worried.

            What Mom said brought up a memory in my mind. When we had been talking to Shadow, back at Lake Valor, he had mentioned something about another forced PokeMorph transformation back at the Galactic HQ.

            "Moltres' fire!" I muttered. "So that's what Shadow meant."

            _::That's what who meant?::_ Dad demanded. _::And what have I told you about using that kind of language?::_

            "Sorry, Dad. I think I know where Magenta is, and you're probably not going to like it. One of the legendary PokeMorphs saw her a couple days back in the Galactic HQ. I get the feeling that Charon turned her into the PokeMorph, too. Once we go check on Lake Acuity in Snowpoint City, I'm going to head back to Veilstone and see about doing a full-fledged invasion on their place. Charon is going to pay for what he did to me. Count on it."

            _::Just be careful, okay sweetie?::_ Mom asked. _::We'll go talk to Hastings about all of this. You just...do your thing::_

            I smiled. "That I will, Mom. That I will. I'll call you guys later, O.K.?"

            _::All right, Scarlet::_ Dad replied. _::Be safe::_

            After I had cancelled the connection, I went back downstairs, where Maria and the others were waiting.

            "Charon's got Magenta," I stated flatly.

            "WHAT?!" everyone shouted.

            "I just contacted my parents; they said that my little sister vanished," I explained. "Shadow had mentioned that there was another one in the Galactic HQ Building, so I put two and two together. When we get done with this lake thing, we're going there."

            Maria nodded. "We would have to go there, anyway - they've got the Lake Pokemon there, remember?"

            "Are we going or not?" Sonic demanded.

            "We're _definitely_ going," Maria replied. "See you later, Mom."

            We left the house and went over to Tails' plane, where Brendan was already waiting for us.

            "So, where are we off to?" the Hoenn Trainer asked.

            "Celestic," Maria replied, bringing out Star. "We're going to have to walk through Mt. Coronet and up through that snowstorm I mentioned earlier in order to make it to Snowpoint and Lake Acuity."

            "All right, then." Brendan brought out his Flygon as Sonic and Knuckles jumped onto different wings of the plane and Tails got into the cockpit. I started to climb into the other seat as Vent started to get onto the same wing Knuckles was on.

            "Hey! We're going to need to keep this plane balanced, or else I won't be able to get it off the ground!" Tails called. "Scarlet, could you get on the wing with Sonic?"

            I froze. "What?"

            Sonic grinned. "About time! Now I can teach you how to windsurf properly!"

            "The trick is to keep your balance." Knuckles looked over at me as I stepped away from the open seat in the body of the plane. "Sonic can help to keep you on the plane if you end up slipping off because of something, and learning how to keep your balance like this might be helpful in your battles later."

            Vent nodded in agreement as Zap slipped into the open seat of the plane, followed by Luke and Gear.

            I hesitated for a moment longer before nodding and climbing onto the wing that Sonic was standing on.

            "You're going to love this," Sonic said, grinning widely.

            Tails started up the propeller. "Here we go, guys! Snowpoint City, here we come!"

            I crouched down and gripped the edge of the wing as we started moving forward, feeling as though every jolt and movement was magnified in the wing. My grip only got tighter as we took off into the sky, leaving Twinleaf behind us.


	23. Chapter 23

            Shadow leaned back against the tree, eyeing the magenta-furred Mobian he had gotten out of the Galactic Headquarters a few hours ago. Considering that the kid was finally having the first relaxing sleep that she seemed to have had in a _long_ time, the Ultimate Lifeform let his eyes wander over the place that he'd managed to get themselves Chaos Controlled to as he let his thoughts wander back a little....

**Memory Break**

_Shadow watched Charon from the shadows as the old scientist marveled over the progress the transformation was making. The old man seemed to be a lot like Robotnik in the hedgehog's eyes, making him all the more dangerous than he already was._

_As Charon left the room to attend some sort of meeting with the other Commanders, Shadow came out to get a closer look at the experiment. There was something...odd about it, and he wanted to check it out. It was, after all, in his nature as a G.U.N. Agent._

_As he neared the stasis chamber the figure was in, something seemed to suddenly react. Shadow removed his green Chaos Emerald from his head quills, and it started to pulse. As if in response, the figure started to pulse with the same sort of light. A moment later, when the pulsing stopped, the figure inside had changed from that of a human with small patches of fur here and there, to that of a young Mobian, somewhere around the age of seven._

_Shadow quickly put the Emerald away and looked for a switch that might let the kid out. When he didn't find one, he pulled the Emerald out again and exclaimed, "Chaos Control!"_

_There was a flash of light, and the child appeared next to him on the ground, out cold._

_Shadow leaned over and shook the girl. "Wake up," he stated._

_The girl opened her eyes, revealing emerald green irises, and looked up sleepily. As soon as they made contact with Shadow's red eyes, the little Mobian sat up, startled, and scooted away from the hedgehog._

_"W-who are you?" the figure asked._

_"I am Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform," the hedgehog replied calmly. "And you?"_

_"M-Magenta," the small Mobian stammered."My name is Magenta Igel..."_

**Memory Break**

            Shadow was shaken out of his memory as Magenta started to wake up with a loud yawn. She stiffened when she saw the forest clearing that she had fallen asleep in, but when she saw Shadow leaning against a tree and Snarl lying at the hedgehog's feet, she relaxed a little.

            Still, that didn't stop her from asking. "Shadow? Where are we?"

            "We're in a place where Charon will not find you," Shadow stated calmly. "And a place where you can learn about your new abilities properly." He turned slightly and faced a shrine that was a short distance away from them. "This place is overflowing with Chaos Energy," he explained to the young human-turned-Mobian. "You should be able to get the hang of it pretty quickly, especially considering that the locals rarely come this far in."

            "What is it?" Magenta was staring at the shrine with wide eyes.

            "The Abundant Shrine." Shadow paused. "I think that a certain echidna would call it by a different name, however."

**Spacial Break**

            Maria shivered a little as the cold nipped at her exposed face, which was probably the only place that it could reach her. While she was warm in every other place, thanks to the warm winter clothes, she didn't have anything that could protect her eyes or nose very well.

            She found herself wishing that she had a ski mask like robbers wore.

            The group had landed Tails' plane in Celestic Town a couple hours ago, giving Cynthia's grandmother quite a shock when Tails asked her to make sure no one tried to vandalize it. Then they had gone into the caves of Mt. Coronet, where Maria and Knuckles had worked together in order to guide them out; the Trainer had surprised the echidna with her amount of knowledge of caves, but she hadn't said anything about where she had learned to be able to navigate them blindly.

            Now that they were on the other side of the mountain, though, Maria was actually a little jealous of Scarlet's transformation, since she had more natural protection against the cold than the Trainer did, what with all her fur.

            Paul and the other Pokemon partnered with the Mobians wasn't doing so well, though. It was pretty clear that they didn't have to handle cold that was this bad in the places that they'd been before, and their Mobian companions were clearly unhappy with how the Pokemon were faring.

            "We should stop here for the night," Brendan declared, stopping in front of a cave and pointing inside. "You guys go in and huddle up. I'm going to get some firewood."

            "Sounds like a good plan." Maria nodded, then motioned for the group to head inside the stone cave. "Make sure it's a big one!"

            "I definitely will."

            True to Brendan's word, he and Pine gathered huge piles of wood, and Brendan pulled out his Salamence and had him use Flamethrower to get the bonfire going.

            While Paul held his wings close to the fire and started defrosting them, Maria and Brendan moved over to the Mobians and their Pokemon partners.

            "Guys, I don't think that your Pokemon can go on like this for much longer," Maria warned.

            "Yeah, I know," Sonic replied. "I'm kind of wondering if there's a way to help Paul beat the cold."

            "You know, there actually is," Brendan said. He rummaged through his backpack, then revealed a sky blue PokeBall with yellow markings. "This is called a QuickBall. It's a special kind of PokeBall for Trainers who want to capture Pokemon without injuring them. In your case, we can use it to symbolize how fast you are."

            Sonic took the QuickBall from Brendan's hand, looking it over. "And while he's in it, he won't be hurt by the weather?"

            "Unless you bring him out to fight another Pokemon," Maria confirmed. She looked in the Flying-Type's direction. "What do you think, Paul? Are you willing to go through with this? It means that Sonic would be your official Pokemon Trainer."

            Paul cocked his head as he looked at the Ball. After a moment, he jumped back and pointed with his wings at his chest. "Go for it!"

            Sonic smirked and gave a nod before pulling his arm back. "Here goes!"

            The capture device was flung out of Sonic's hand and went straight for Paul, who made no move to get away from it. The small sphere then hit the bird Pokemon square in the chest, opening up and taking the creature inside in the form of a red light. The ball then snapped shut with a metallic cling, fell to the ground, wiggled once, then let out a beeping noise.

            "Wow," Brendan remarked. "Never saw a capture like that before."

            "They're pretty common in the Unova region," Tails remarked. He dove his hand into Brendan's backpack. "Black said it only happens if the wild Pokemon you're fighting really wants to join up with you." His hand came out with a yellow and black ball which he tossed at Gear, getting the same sort of result Sonic's QuickBall did.

            "Are you suggesting we all do this?" Knuckles asked. "Because I don't quite like the idea of Vent being trapped in a sphere of that size."

            Luke, who was hiding under Maria's coat, whispered something into her ear. Maria then translated, "Luke actually thinks they're pretty roomy. The main idea of a PokeBall is to make a Pokemon only a little smaller for easy transport. I mean, if I tried to enter a Pokemon Center dragging a Steelix behind me, it would probably destroy the whole building."

            "Steelix?" Sonic repeated.

            "It's basically a giant, iron snake," Scarlet explained. "Never ran into one, but I've heard those guys are huge. Not as big as a Wailord, mind you, but still huge."

            "Anyway, a PokeBall can be whatever the Pokemon sees it as," Maria continued as she translated for Luke. "For instance, Luke's PokeBall looks like a large, never-ending plain with all he needs to survive. He likes coming out only because the other Pokemon he sees on that plain are nothing more than holograms." She smiled. "PokeBalls are merely signs that a Trainer is training that Pokemon, so no one else can try and capture that Pokemon. Take Luke, for instance. Riolu are extremely rare around here, and if he didn't have his own PokeBall already, someone might come and try to capture him from under my nose. Of course, that is not going to happen so long as I and my other Pokemon are around to protect him."

            Luke grinned at that statement, happy that his Trainer would protect him.

            "You don't have to keep a Pokemon in their PokeBall all the time," Brendan added. "Some Pokemon like the fresh air more than the PokeBall; Pikachu are known to have such a trait under normal circumstances."

            "So, how do I let Paul out?" Sonic asked, looking over the QuickBall.

            "You have to press this button," Tails explained, tapping a white button on the capture device. "Or, you can just throw the PokeBall. If you want the Pokemon to return to the PokeBall, just say the Pokemon's name, then 'Return' while holding the Ball with the button facing the Pokemon. Simple as that."

            "And you learned all of this how?" Sonic asked.

            "Black told me a few things," the two-tailed fox replied simply. Tails then demonstrated by throwing his sphere into the air, releasing Gear.

            After that was settled, Vent and Knuckles agreed to grab a Ball together from Brendan's backpack. What they pulled out was a green ball with a twig-like design.

            "You've been visiting Kurt, haven't you?" Maria asked her fellow Trainer with a grin.

            Brendan let out a chuckle. "You bet! That guys makes PokeBalls like no tomorrow!" Pointing at the ball Knuckles and Vent now held, he explained, "That's called a FriendBall. If you two grabbed it at the same time, it must mean that the two of you have a pretty deep bond."

            Mobian and Pokemon looked at each other, large smiles crossing their faces at the memory of what Maria and Sonic did back by Lake Verity.

            Once Vent had been officially "captured" by Knuckles, and Scarlet had given Zap a normal PokeBall to use, everyone settled down to sleep around the campfire, ready for a good night's sleep.

**Dream Break**

_A girl with brown hair was thrown out of a green hammock, her glasses going askew. Her blue eyes snapped open, and she scrambled to her feet and glared at the reason for the sudden disruption._

_"There are better ways to wake someone up," she hissed as she pointed a staff with the head of a phoenix at the shadow in front of her, despite the fact that there was a gun being pointed in her face. The teen wasn't feeling too nice because of the sudden wake-up call. "Do that again and you'll pay for it, R-."_

_The shadow let out a laugh, the gun in its hand not moving even as it threw back its head. "And how are you going to make me pay, little lady? In case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered." He motioned to the figures wearing gas masks behind the shadow. They had the pair surrounded, their guns pointed at the girl. "Now, be a good girl and tell me where our friends are."_

_"Our friends?" the girl repeated. "I wouldn't consider all this," she motioned to the guns with a glare, "being friendly." She returned her glare to the man in front of her. "Besides, we all split after dinner, remember? I came here to get a nap." She eyed the hammock meaningfully, the reused tarp now lying on the ground underneath the shadow's feet._

            _"Not the answer I was looking for," the shadow growled in response. It brought the gun closer to the girl's head. "We already found the two boys you seem to like so much. Now, where are T- and the -?"_

**Dream Break**

**Maria's POV**

            I awoke with a start, eyes wide.

            "What was _that_ all about?" I looked down at my hands, trying to remember the dream that was only coming to me in fragments. Something about a girl...and a man...

            There was something about that dream that was familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

            _"Is something wrong?"_ a familiar voice penetrated my mind.

            "No, Aurora," I replied calmly, not even bothering to turn and look in the Legendary's direction. "I was just thinking."

            Aurora flew around to my front, looking me over with her large, blue eyes. I looked at the Cherish Ball she had on a chain around her neck instead of locking my gaze with hers.

            _"You had another one,_ " the Mew noted. Seeing the surprised look on my face, she explained, _"Your mind is in confusion because of your dream, Maria."_

            I sighed. "I thought they had stopped coming." I looked Aurora. "Why is it that they seem so familiar? The people and places I see...they aren't from any place that I've been in."

            Aurora cocked her head a little. _"Perhaps...but perhaps not."_

I frowned in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

            _"You aren't truly of the White family,"_ the Pokemon reminded me. _"You came to your adoptive mother with hardly any memory of who you were as a_ human _, excluding your name and an urge to become a Pokemon Trainer."_

            I could see where Aurora was going with this. "Are you saying that I'm starting to remember my past?"

            Aurora made a shrugging motion. _"That all depends. We shall soon see in the coming days, however."_

            "What do you mean by that?" I asked, frowning.

            _"I believe that this Team Galactic is going to provide all the answers you are going to need."_ With that, the Mew vanished.

            My frown deepened as Aurora's words sunk in. Now, not only am I chasing Team Galactic to rescue the Lake Spirits and Scarlet's sister, but I'm also trying to pry secrets from my past, too? But what could those goons tell me?

            "Who were you talking to?" asked a voice.

            I turned my head as Sonic approached and sat down next to me.

            "Just another one of my Pokemon," I replied in passing. "A Legendary by the name of Mew, only she likes being called Aurora for some reason."

            "Aurora, huh? I think Knuckles mentioned someone with that name a couple years back, after the Xorda incident."

            I mentally brought up a memory. "You mean, after he died and was brought back to the land of the living?"

            Sonic shrugged. "Apparently. I didn't hear the whole thing, but I heard that there was something about someone wanting him to bond to the Chaos Force, but some old geezer named Athair told him to come back and help us out. And he said that Aurora could change her species if she wanted to.

            I frowned. "That sounds a lot like what a Mew can do. A Mew is capable of transforming into whatever Pokemon they want to be at any time." I started to notice a shadow flitting about the remains of the campfire. "Let's wake Knuckles and ask him for more info about this Aurora he ran into."

            We snuck over to where Knuckles was lying, his back to the cave wall, arms crossed over his chest.

            Sonic poked him with the toe of his right shoe, causing the sleeping echidna to react by reaching out and grabbing Sonic's leg, then throwing the hedgehog into a nearby wall.

            Knuckles opened his eyes as Sonic fell onto the ground with a thud. "What do you two want, exactly?"

            "A little information," I replied. I looked up, then called, "Hey, Aurora! I know you're still in here."

            Knuckles stiffened a little as Sonic got up off the ground. "Aurora?" he repeated.

            "A Mew," Sonic grunted. "Man, Knux, did you have to throw me that hard?"

            "Did you have to poke me?" Knuckles retorted. As the two Mobians were glaring at each other, Aurora appeared between them, looking a little amused.

            _"Do you two mind?"_ the Mew asked, frowning at them.

            The two Mobians looked at the Pokemon in surprise.

            Knuckles was the first to overcome his surprise. "Hello, Aurora," he greeted. I detected a little stiffness in the greeting, but otherwise, he seemed neutral.

_"Hello, Avatar,"_ Aurora replied. _"How are you adapting to this world?"_

            Knuckles grunted. "Well enough. Why aren't you in that echidna form I met you in?"

            I blinked in surprise. "Knuckles, are you saying that the Mew is the person you met in the Chaos Force?"

            Knuckles nodded. "Yeah; this is her. I'd recognize the voice of the Neo Walker anywhere. What I don't understand is why she was turned into a Pokemon."

_"It happened a long time ago,"_ Aurora admitted. _"Some sort of incident involving the Chaos Force and...some other power. Many Mobians were turned into Pokemon, and I was forcefully expelled from my place. However, I can still sense when something is wrong with the balance of things."_

            "Some other power?" I wondered. "What sort of power could have caused this?"

_"Even I do not know what sort of power. It invaded the Chaos Force and I was on Mobius in this form before I could blink."_

I frowned at that, thinking back to what I'd done before -- back when I'd faced Pokemon that had nearly caused the world to end multiple times over.

            The dream that I'd just had made me wonder if there was more to me beyond what I already knew and remembered.

            Aurora looked at me with concern. Knuckles, who had been watching Aurora seemed a little surprised to see the emotion appear on the little pink Pokemon's face.

_"Maria has a little bit of an inner imbalance,"_ she explained to the echidna. _"I can tell she needs help to sort through everything that's going through her mind right now."_

            "Maybe we can help," Sonic suggested.

            _"You will have to enter her mind by the way of slumber,"_ Aurora warned.

            I folded my arms. "There's no need for that, Aurora. I didn't need to be woken up from a nightmare that Darkrai put me in." Like it or not, that hadn't ever been a good experience for me back then, even if I had figured it out.

            Aurora sighed. _"I'm really sorry that I have to do this, Maria, but it's the only way. You're going to have to go through with it."_

            I let out a sigh. "Give me some time to think it over, Aurora."

            The little Pokemon nodded. _"One day."_ She then disappeared again.

            The rest of the night, I tossed and turned a little as the others slept, thinking Aurora's words over. The thought of other people entering my mind made me flinch a little, but I didn't know why specifically.

            Also, the idea of finally discovering my lost memories made my heart go faster than a normal sleeping speed. I decided to go through my PokeDex until my heart had slowed down enough to let me sleep. I went through the electronic pages, looking at the data I had loaded up, until I came to a page with the data from Scarlet's Dex on it. I decided to add what else I knew.

            _"Certain Mobians are capable of accessing a power called the Chaos Force through gems called the Chaos Emeralds, or through the creature's own force of sheer will. Known uses:..."_


	24. Chapter 24

            When Scarlet woke up the next morning, she didn't expect to see a Staraptor staring down at her with a huge grin on its face.

            "Yah!" she exclaimed, backing into a wall.

            The bird made a chuckling noise.

            "Star, don't do that!" Maria called. "Scarlet doesn't need you to wake her up in the mornings."

            Scarlet blinked. "Star? You evolved?"

            "I went out earlier this morning," Maria explained. "Battled a few of the locals, scouted out a path to Lake Acuity - that sort of thing."

            "You found a way out of this snowstorm?" Brendan inquired as they gathered up the sleeping bags.

            Maria nodded in confirmation. "It's going to take a while, though. This storm is not going to be leaving anytime soon."

            "We'd better get going before we change our minds, then," Sonic remarked. He picked up Paul's Quick Ball and hid it in his head quills. Tails did the same with Gear's Ultra Ball, only that disappeared into one of his tails, and Knuckles' Friend Ball disappeared into his dreadlocks. Vent remained out, preferring to walk alongside his Trainer. Gear and Paul were in their respective spheres, in order to protect themselves from the cold weather.

            "When we get near Lake Acuity, they can probably come back out; the snowstorm just becomes a bunch of flurries," Maria told the Mobians. The group then left the cave and entered into the snowstorm.

            The blizzard hit Scarlet and the others like a wall. Within a matter of seconds, everyone was shivering and running as fast as they dared to go without losing sight of each other.

            "Don't worry, guys!" Maria called back to the others as she ran ahead of the group. "We're almost there! Just a couple more yards and we'll be out of the blizzard."

            True to her word, the blizzard almost completely stopped, save for the occasional snowflake that fell to the ground.

            "The entrance should be just up ahead," Maria remarked. She called Star out of her PokeBall, and she defeated a Medicham running in their direction.

            Suddenly, Luke jumped out of Maria's coat, glowing. He changed shape and became a Lucario. Grinning, he gave Maria a small, crown-like item with glowing yellow spheres on it.

            "All right, Luke!" Maria cheered. "Now you can get stronger, faster." She put the strange object in her backpack. Noticing the looks of confusion she was getting from the Mobians, she explained, "It's called a EXP Share. It allows for a Pokemon to gain experience from battle without actually joining in. I gave it to Luke because he needed to get up to the rest of my team's levels."

            "And we may need him," Brendan added. "Look over there."

            The group looked in the direction of the lake's entrance. A pair of Galactic grunts were standing guard there.

            Maria walked over, Luke at her side. "Can we get through?" she asked in a low growl.

            One of the grunts shook his head. "We're here to keep strong Trainers and Gym Leaders out, and you fit the bill."

            Brendan sighed. "Sounds a lot like what happened back in Lilycove," he remarked. "Looks like we'll have to get the nearest Gym Leader."

            "And I know just the Gym Leader to get," Maria added. She led the group away from the lake entrance. "Come on, guys. I've got a Gym Leader to beat in Snowpoint!"

**Scarlet's POV**

            As we entered the city, I took note that the cold was considerably less here than out on the Routes. Maybe there was a hot spring nearby that kept the ground warm or something like that.

            Luke was looking pretty proud as he walked next to Vent. I could tell that something about his evolving not long after Vent was pretty monumental. His evolution actually told me something more, though. It told me that Maria truly cared about her Pokemon, which was no surprise to any of us.

            "We'd better get a room at the Pokemon Center before we try anything at the Gym," Maria muttered. "No use freezing to death out here, higher temperature or no." So she'd noticed, too.

            As we walked into the Pokemon Center, a three younger Trainers -- two boys, and a girl -- crowded around me, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and the two Lucario, amazed by our appearances.

            "Wow!" one boy exclaimed, pointing to Vent and Luke. "Two Lucario!" He looked at Maria. "You must be very strong to have two of them."

            Maria smirked. "I'm only training one of them. The other is Knuckles' partner." She motioned to the echidna. "He isn't a Pokemon. Neither are Scarlet, Sonic, or Tails."

            "Then, what are they?" the little girl inquired.

            "We're Mobians," Sonic replied coolly.

            "But some people have called us PokeMorphs," Tails added.

            The kids, startled that we could actually talk, backed away for a moment before looking at each other. One boy who looked a little more bold than others, stepped forward.

            "Can you be caught?" he asked.

            "We're Trainers," Knuckles pointed out, "and we're not Pokemon." He revealed Vent's Friend Ball, as Tails and Sonic revealed their Pokemon's Balls, releasing them from the spheres. I did the same.

            Zap crawled up onto my left shoulder and complained to me in his own language. I managed to decipher something about his PokeBall and not being in it again.

            "Relax, Zap," I told him. "I'll only use it when I have to."

            Paul stood next to Sonic, glaring at the kids a little defensively. He looked like he was ready to unleash a Twister right then and there if anyone came too close.

            "Keep cool, Paul," Sonic stated calmly. "They're just kids."

            Gear floated around Tails calmly, also defensive of his Trainer.

            The bold kid looked at the Pokemon with a lot of contempt. "O.K., then," he stated coolly. "We challenge you three to a Triple Battle." He pointed at Sonic, Knuckles and Tails. "Our Pokemon verses your Pokemon."

            "There's a field out back we can use," the little girl added.

            "I think you should use the indoor stadium," Nurse Joy called from the counter.

            "That's a better idea," Maria agreed. "Could you lead us there?"

            The nurse sent her Chansey over. "Chansey knows this Center like the back of her hand. She can take you."

            "Yup!" Chansey smiled brightly. "Follow me!" She turned and let us down a corridor, and into a pretty decent-sized stadium near the back of the Center. Other than a few Trainers who were working with their Pokemon, it was pretty much empty.

            The boy pointed to a spot in the center of the stadium. "Let's do it there."

            "I'm refereeing," Maria stated calmly as they walked over. "By the way, the name's Maria, kid. What are your names?"

            "I'm Collin," the more quiet of the two boys stated.

            "Call me Violet," the girl added.

            "The name's Thomas," the bold boy finished. "Let's get this battle going."

            "I agree with you there," Sonic agreed. He and Paul grinned at each other. "Let's do it to it!"

            "Whenever you guys are ready," Maria stated.

I moved over to one side with Brendan and Zap, sitting on a nearby bench.

            "Go, Snover!" Collin called. "Take right!"

            "Go, Cherubi!" Violet called. "Take left!"

            "Go, Haunter!" Thomas shouted. "Take center!"

            The three PokeBalls released the Pokemon at once.

            Tails moved to the left, Sonic to the center, and Knuckles to the right, directing their Pokemon to do the same as they did.

            "All right; you guys ready?" Maria looked between the two groups of Trainers for a moment. When she saw the nods, she gave one of her own. "Begin!"

            "Let out your Snow Warning, Snover!" Collin called out. "Then use a Powder Snow!"

            Instantly it started hailing in the stadium, and everyone else ran to take cover while we stayed out to watch as the ice pelted us. The Snover then blew a stream of snow in Paul's direction, but Paul was distracted by the fact that he was starting to get ice on his wings again.

            "Use Twister to push it back!" Sonic ordered.

            Paul started flapping his wings quickly, creating a tornado that not only took the ice off his wings, but blasted the attack back at the Snover at the same time.

            I leaned back against the wall as I watched the battle continue as a shouting match as much as it was the groups of Trainers coming up with strategies in order to keep the moves away from their Pokemon and hit their opponents at the same time.

            "Change formation," Sonic suggested. "Knuckles, you're up." He and Paul moved to the right, letting Knuckles and Vent take the center. "Paul, get that Snover with a Twister!"

            "So, this is how Trainers fight each other when there's more than two of them," I remarked. "I wish it had less shouting."

            "Yeah, it probably would be better." Brendan nodded. "Maria has come up with some pretty good strategies with her Pokemon that keeps her from yelling so much, though. She trusts them enough to make sure that they can take care of their opponents without making a mistake."

            I gained an interested expression.

            "Two can play at that game," Thomas growled. "Sis, take center!"

            "How does she do it?" I raised an eyebrow. "I mean, is it because she's been a Trainer for so long?"

            Brendan shook his head. "Maria's always been able to do things with her Pokemon that other Trainers could wish for, and she hasn't told very many people about how she does it."

            "Do you know?"

            _Thud!_

            Brendan and I looked up when the Cherubi was slammed into a wall, knocked out.

            "Cherubi and Snover are unable to battle!" Maria called.

            "Well...." Brendan trailed off. "I _do_ know, but I'm not going to say anything unless Maria says it's all right. It's up to her who she tells."

            I scowled at that. "Oh, all right."

            Sonic grinned at Knuckles and Tails. "Hey -- let's try for a Team Attack."

            I blinked at that, then frowned. "Team Attack?"

            The three Mobians huddled for a moment, quickly relaying their plan to their Pokemon while Thomas and his Haunter -- the only Pokemon still in play -- waited impatiently on the other side.

            "Ready anytime!" Sonic called as they broke their huddle.

            "What were you guys doing, anyway?" Thomas shook his head. "It doesn't matter. "Haunter, use Night Shade!"

            "Blast away!" the three Mobians called at once.

            Their Pokemon responded instantly, firing off a Twister, Charge Beam, and what looked like a powered-up Reversal attack at the same time. The moves combined into a spiral, which twisted this way and that until it hit Haunter, who had been watching the move and had become dizzy. It then almost fell to the floor, but it got back up again.

            "That Pokemon's actually pretty strong," Brendan noted. "That kid must be pretty good, if it could stand up to an attack like that."

            "Shadow Claw on that gear thing!" Thomas ordered.

            "ThunderShock!" Tails ordered. "Defense!"

            The electric move expanded to form a shield, which Haunter hit. The Ghost-Type cried out in pain as the electricity moved through it. The Pokemon then collapsed.

            "Haunter is unable to battle!" Maria called. "The winners are Team Sonic!"

            "Did you really have to pull out that name?" Sonic asked with a grin.

            "I haven't heard that since Metal Overload," Knuckles remarked. "I wonder if the others are all right..."

            "Others?" Violet asked as she walked over with her Cherubi. It had recovered enough to walk, but it didn't look like it was going to get into any fights very soon. "You mean, there are more of you?"

            Tails nodded. "Yeah; just yesterday, we ran into two of them. One of 'em's with Team Galactic, though."

            "And the other went off on his own way," I added. "You said you were going to fight the Gym Leader, right, Maria?"

            Maria nodded. "Yeah; I get the feeling she uses Ice-Types, so I'm going to get FireMane out of the PC Box system before I go up against her."

            "Thanks for the battle," Thomas said. "I kinda enjoyed it."

            "It wasn't a problem, dude," Sonic replied. "If you wanna fight again, look me up."

            "Or, you can exchange numbers," I added, pulling out my PokeGear. The two of them exchanged numbers; after that, the three kids had their Pokemon healed and went to their homes, and we, after Maria had gone through the PC Boxes, went over to the Gym.

            As soon as we stepped inside, Knuckles let out a whistle. "Nice set-up they've got here."

            Tails looked at Maria curiously. "Are all Gyms set up like this?"

            Maria shook her head. "Each Gym is set up with different challenges that coincide with the Gym Leader's favorite Type of Pokemon. For instance, this giant ice rink is here only because the Gym Leader uses Ice-Types, probably like that Snover you went up against earlier."

            I looked the giant, layered ice rink over, frowning at the snowballs. "This shouldn't be all _that_ hard to navigate."

            Maria snorted at my comment. "Ice in these places is a _lot_ more difficult to get around on than anywhere else. Watch." She turned and faced a back corner of the Gym, then stepped off the hard snow that we had walked in on. Instantly, she was sent sliding across to the back corner she had been aiming for.

            "This stuff is _super_ slippery!" Maria called back at us. Then she slid back over. "So changing direction while I'm skating around is going to be impossible." She looked around the Gym, frowning. "Those snowballs have to be there for a reason, and those squares of packed snow, too. Let's see...." She moved her position, then stepped onto the ice at the edge of the ramp of ice that led down into the center of the Gym and back up again. "Here goes!"

            At Maria's personal starting signal, she zipped down into the dent in the middle of the ice rink and somehow managed to slide back up again, taking out three snowballs as she went.

            "Well?" Brendan called as Maria shook the snow off.

            Maria gave a bright-sounding laugh and gave us a thumbs-up, startling some of the Gym Trainers. "This is fun! I'll see if you guys can try this out later when I'm not taking the Gym Challenge!"

            I blinked at Maria's call, then sighed and shook my head as she nearly rammed into a nearby Trainer. "The ice in Almia Castle definitely _wasn't_ this slippery. At least she doesn't have to deal with any icicles hanging around here."

            Tails got down on his knees on the packed snow and poked at the ice, yelping when his finger slipped out from under him and nearly made him smack his nose against the ice. "This ice is more slippery than normal. I wonder if they use a lubricant to make it more slippery...."

            Brendan snorted. "Nah, this is just how slippery most ice is that we Trainers end up running into. Caves, buildings, outside -- it doesn't matter."

            "Well, I'd like to beg to differ," I replied in a huff. "I've been able to run on ice before."

            "That's probably because Ranger gear is better for that kind of thing than Trainer gear is." Brendan pointed at his shoes. "The only time I've been able to actually run on ice is when I went and challenged the Water-Type Gym Leader in Hoenn, and _that_ was a real puzzle. And Maria managed to get through it and set the bar for least time taken to solve that thing!"

            "Guys!"

            I jumped when I heard Maria's voice practically in my ear, and I turned and stared at her. "How'd you get here so fast?"

            "I just finished the puzzle." Maria pointed back to the ice rink. "The path is clear; we can go straight to the Gym Leader now."

            Sonic laughed. "About time!"

            "When you said she was fast, you weren't kidding," Tails muttered to Brendan. The Trainer nodded in response.

            "So, you're not going to head back and heal up before you take on the Gym Leader?" I raised an eyebrow.

            "They weren't hurt by the Trainers in here. Besides, if I do that, then the snowballs will just reappear and I'll have to do that all over again." Maria turned to face the stairs that had been blocked off before and skated over the ice. I decided to follow and test the ice myself. Tails had been right; the ice was a lot more slippery than I was used to. Either Brendan was right about my gear, or certain regions just had worse kinds of ice.

            The Gym Leader was a woman probably in her early twenties, with long black hair, which she had in pigtails, and blue eyes. Her dress was a bit short for someone who lived up north, but she was probably used to the cold.

            The woman grinned. "Hi! The name's Candace, and I'm the Gym Leader." Her grin faded slightly as she looked us over -- specifically, four of us. "You...don't look like you're from around here."

            "I guess you could say we aren't," Sonic replied, shrugging. "Name's Sonic, and these two are Tails and Knuckles.

            "And I'm Ranger Scarlet Igel," I said calmly.

            One of Sonic's ears twitched. "Did you say your last name is hedgehog?" he asked me.

            I frowned. "No; I said Igel."

            "Try spelling it out," the blue hedgehog suggested. "I still heard hedgehog that time."

            "I-G-E-L. How that sounds like hedgehog to you, I have no idea."

            "I've got a translator in my ear. Your last name is probably in another language that isn't English," Sonic stated.

            "It isn't," Maria said, blinking owlishly. "I think...I've heard it before somewhere...." She frowned, then shook her head. "I'll try to figure it out later."

            Candace frowned. "I didn't think that I'd run into four Pokemon that could speak English at once."

            "We're not Pokemon," Knuckles stated. "We're Mobians, or PokeMorphs, as your legends call us." He motioned to Vent, Paul, Zap and Gear. "These are the Pokemon we've partnered up with."

            Candace's mouth became an "o" shape. "I get it. So, which one of you is challenging me today?" She looked at Brendan. "Are you?"

            Brendan shook his head. "Nah. I'm just here to watch."

            "I'm the one challenging you." Maria grinned. "You up to it?"

            "Oh, sure! With me, fights are all about focus. Get ready to lose!" Candace tossed a PokeBall, releasing a Snover as Maria let Machoke out.

            "I don't think so!" Maria laughed.

            Once again, the battle was in Maria's favor. She'd brought along her Rapidash -- FireMane -- to give her some help when Machoke fainted to Candace's Snover using Avalance, but she switched her out for Luke after the Abomasnow fainted.

            The action left me wondering if Maria could read what her opponent was going to use next, and the result was Luke knocking out Candace's Sneasel with a Force Palm.

            "You're as good as the other Gym Leaders have been saying." Candace grinned as she returned the Sneasel. "I haven't seen someone as good in battle as you in a long time!"

            "Thanks!" Maria replied. She paused, stiffening slightly. "Luke, get back -- Prinplup's going to take this next one."

            The Lucario nodded in response, then disappeared into his PokeBall as Prinplup exploded out of his.

            "This is it!" Candace released a Medicham. "I'm going to break the ice!"

            "We'll see about that!" Maria made a slashing motion with one hand, obviously pulled into the heat of battle. "Brine!"

            The Medicham's eyes glowed brightly when Candace called for a Detect, and the Pokemon barely managed to avoid the blast of water before she dashed forward and slammed a glowing blue fist into Prinplup's middle, causing ice to spread out from the impact point.

            "Ice Punch." Maria growled in annoyance. "Prinplup, come back! Sparks will take it from here!"

            "Bulk Up!" Candace mimicked her Pokemon's pose as the Luxray exploded out of his PokeBall. "We don't know what it is that they're going to try next!" She shot a wide grin at Maria. "I promised you that I'd win, and I'm not going to lose now!"

            "Well, don't expect me to back down!" Maria replied. "Sparks, get her with a Crunch! Try to mix a Spark in with it!"

            The Luxray lunged forward, mouth open wide as electricity sparked off her fur. Even with Medicham trying to dodge, Sparks was still able to sink her teeth into her opponent's leg, sending sparks up the Fighting/Psychic-Type's body and forcing out a cry of pain.

            Medicham shook Sparks off, stumbling as a result of two attacks hitting her at once. She shook her head and moved to attack, but electric sparks jumped over her body, causing her to stop short and wince.

            "Paralyzed." Candace's eyes narrowed.

            "Again!" Maria was grinning widely. "We've got this!"

            "Definitely!" Sparks howled back. She leapt forward again, this time getting Medicham's arm before releasing the Pokemon.

            Medicham stumbled in response to being suddenly released from the attack, trying to keep her balance, but the attack to her leg and her arm caused the Pokemon to first fall to her knees, then collapse completely.

            "Wow, you're great!" Candace exclaimed as she returned Medicham. "You've earned my respect. I think your focus and will bowled us over entirely."

            Maria chuckled. "You almost had me on the ropes, too."

            Candace looked like she had been hit with an idea. "Almost forgot! I'm supposed to give you this! Here's the Icicle Badge. Now, you can use the move Rock Climb anywhere outside of battle. Take this, too." She handed Maria a disk marked "TM72."

            "Avalanche, right?" Maria guessed.

            Candace nodded. "If the user is damaged, the move's power is doubled! Can you imagine the kind of focus you'd need to pull it off?"

            Brendan nodded. "Now that we have that taken care of, we need your assistance concerning something."

            The happy expression on Candace's face faded slightly. "What is it?"

            "It's about Lake Acuity. There's a couple Galactic goons keeping anyone from going there, and we've got a friend in there who might've in trouble. Do you think you could scare them off?"

            Candace grinned again, looking more sinister this time. "No problem! Abomasnow and I'll get rid of them for ya! I'll meet you at the entrance!"

            The Gym Leader zoomed off. We decided to follow suit and, after Maria had stopped off in the Pokemon Center to heal her Pokemon and mess around with the PC Boxes, we went out to the Lake Acuity entrance.

            When we got there, the two grunts who had been in the way were gone, and Candace was standing where they had been, a huge grin on her face.

            "That was too easy!" she declared. "All I had to do was send out Abomasnow and they ran off."

            "Where are they now?" I asked, looking around.

            "In the trees, shivering like the cold-blooded ninnies they are."

            Sonic let out a laugh. "Man, these guys are wimps!" he declared. "I can't wait to see how strong their boss is."

            Maria glared at the break in the trees that led to the lake. "I've faced Jupiter once before. If she hasn't gotten stronger since we met in Eternia, I'd be _sorely_ disappointed." She paused, as though she was going to say something else, then shook her head and took off through the trees. We quickly followed after her.

            _WHAM!_

            I came skidding to a stop, kicking up snow and wincing as Barry fell to the ground, his back against a tree. Across from him was Jupiter and that Skuntank of hers.

            Barry shook a fist at Jupiter from where he was lying in the snow.

"You're not going to get away with this, Team Galactic!"

            Jupiter chuckled. "You're finished already? You're Pokemon aren't bad, but you're laughably weak. You honestly thought you could save the Pokemon of the lake and become a Pokemon Champion? Dream on, little kid." She shuddered as a cold wind blew by. "Eww, it's so cold here. I'm going back to Veilstone HQ." The purple-haired woman walked by Barry and came over to our group. She looked at me and Maria. "Oh, it's you two. Listen - Team Galactic is doing something huge for everyone's sake. That's why you should stay out of our way."

            Maria opened her mouth to argue, but Jupiter stopped her, saying, "Oh, don't start whining about poor Pokemon and other trivial junk. And don't waste your time coming to our HQ in Veilstone, either."

            I let out a low growl. "You have my sister. I think that's reason enough."

            Jupiter gave me a passing glance. "The little teleporting brat? She's gone. Now, if you'll excuse me." She pushed her way through our group and left.

            Barry, who was now on his knees, tried to get up, but let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground. A pair of grunts ran past him, chased by Black and Kellyn, who had a Weavile next to him.

            "Barry!" Maria exclaimed, worried. She ran over to the Trainer.

            Barry chuckled nervously. He looked up at Maria. "Yeah, that's right! I couldn't do a thing against Team Galactic!" He looked over at the lake. "That Pokemon called Uxie...it was suffering..." Barry looked back at the group. "I'm going to get tougher. It's not about winning or losing...that's not good enough... I have to be stronger."

            Maria stiffened at that. " _Uxie?_ Oh, Moltres' tailfeathers....."

            I sent Maria a glance before looking back at Barry. "Stronger? Maybe. But you have to make sure you're _okay_ first. Let's get you back to the Pokemon Center and have Nurse Joy look you over. After you're okay'd by her, _then_ you can start training."

            "But-" Barry started.

            "Scarlet's right," Kellyn stated. "You look pretty bad, Barry." He nodded to the Weavile. "Thanks for your help against that Galactic Grunt."

            The Pokemon saluted, then ran off into the trees.

            Maria called out Star. "Get Barry to the Pokemon Center in Snowpoint," she instructed. "We'll follow on foot."

            The Pokemon nodded and, after Barry had been placed on her back, took off to the west.

            Black looked our group over, taking note of the Lucario in our midst. "Did Vent -"

            "Yes, he did," Knuckles confirmed. "Maria's Riolu, Luke, did as well."

            "And don't forget Gear!" Tails added, motioning to the Klang beside him.

            "Looks like we have some catching up to do," Kellyn noted.

            "Let's do it back at the Pokemon Center," Maria suggested. "We can tell you about it there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Scarlet's last name being "hedgehog" in German -- Igel -- was either the funniest thing I could come up with or something slightly clever for my age at the time. I was really, really into learning the language.


	25. Chapter 25

**Maria's POV**

            "...and then we ran into you guys," I finished.

            Kellyn, Black, Brendan, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Scarlet, Barry, and I were sitting around me at one of the eating tables in the Center, having some hot chocolate and lunch; our Pokemon were at another table, eating their own lunches. I hadn't told them anything about what Sonic, Knuckles, Aurora, and I had talked about the night before, because they didn't need to know about that.

            "So, what's your story?" I asked Black. He was sitting across from me, taking a sip from his mug often hot drink.

            "Well, after we had split at Canalave, we came up through Mt. Coronet and arrived here at Snowpoint, completely bypassing the lake. Barry decided he wanted to take on that Gym you'd told about, rather than take care of our task." Black rolled his eyes.

            "Hey!" Barry snapped from his seat to my right. "Your Unfezant was reacting badly to the cold! We had to get it to the Pokemon Center anyway!"

            "I have Full Restores," Black replied flatly.

            Kellyn shook his head, a slightly annoyed look on his face. He was sitting across from Scarlet, who was to my left. "Now you see what I had to deal with." He then picked up the story from where Black had left off. "After Barry had defeated Candace, which took some time, we spent the day wandering around Snowpoint, and the night at the Pokemon Center. This morning, we finally got directions to Lake Acuity and went there. The place was crawling with grunts, so Black, Barry, and I took care of them. Then we surfed - I think that's the term - over to the island in the center of the lake, where we entered a cave."

            "Were there any carvings on the walls?" Knuckles inquired. He was sitting across from Barry.

            Black nodded. "And they looked like Tails' species."

            Tails looked a little surprised from where he sat, which was across from Sonic. "Was one wearing an eyepatch and what looked like a soldier's uniform?"

            Kellyn nodded. "Yeah; and there was another one in a pink dress standing next to him."

            "Those are my parents, Amadeus and Rosemary," Tails explained. "Was there anyone else?"

            "There was one in a cloak," Barry recalled. He reached down as if to scratch his left leg, then paused and slammed the table instead. "If only this cast would stop itching!" he complained.

            I shook my head, a small smile on my face. Barry had apparently broken his left leg, and now could only get around on crutches or with his Grotle's help.

            "That's Uncle Merlin!" Tails exclaimed. "Anybody else?"

            Kellyn frowned slightly. "Well, I don't know how to describe the others we saw, but there was a brown creature wearing a uniform like your dad was, only he didn't have a tail and he had yellow hair on the top of his head. Beside him was what looked like a Lopunny, only without all the fur and in some sort of cowboy outfit with a braid going down the back. They were looking at each other with lovey-dovey looks on their faces." The Ranger let out a shudder. I could tell he wasn't quite into that stuff.

            "Those two are Antoine and Bunnie D'Coolete," Sonic identified. He was sitting on Scarlet's left. "They got married awhile back, and personally, I think they make a pretty good pair."

            "And then there was what looked like a humanoid Swoobat who was giving the same look to a creature like Knuckles, only he was a darker red and had green eyes," Black recalled.

            "Rouge the Bat and her boyfriend, Beryl," Knuckles stated. "Personally, I'm glad that they paired up together, because I don't want to lose Julie-Su to that guy."

            "Who?" Barry asked.

            "Knuckles' girlfriend," Sonic said, giving the echidna a sly grin. "She's a purple echidna."

            "Remember, Sonic, you've got a girlfriend, too," I reminded the hedgehog. I then explained to the three boys, "Her name's Sally Acorn, and she's a princess of sorts in Mobian circles. Were there any other Mobians pictured?"

            "Well, there were these two miniature Beedril," Barry noted. "Kind of looked like little kids. Then there was this lizard-like creature, green with these HUGE teeth! He kind of looked like a thin, Shiny Feraligatr."

            "Charmy, his girlfriend Saffron - both are bees - and Vector the Crocodile," Knuckles stated. "They're part of the Chaotix. Were they standing with a Mobian with a smooth red shell, a yellow Mobian with a blue jacket and a fluffy tail, and a purple Mobian with a yellow horn?"

            "Yeah!" Kellyn replied.

            "Those would be the other members of my team - Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Flying Squirrel, and Espio, a ninja chameleon," Knuckles stated.

            "What about the purple Walrein with the yellow hat, though?" Barry asked. "It was standing near that D'Coolete couple."

            "That's Rotor," Sonic stated. "His nickname's Boomer, and he's a Walrus, not a whatever-that-is."

            "Were there any others?" I asked.

            Black shook his head. "Nah. We didn't see any others, but that Merlin guy did take up the entire back wall of the cave...Anyway, Jupiter drove us out with more grunts. Barry decided he was going to take her on personally, and you all saw the result."

            "So, where are you guys gonna be heading now?" Kellyn inquired.

            "We're going to head to Veilstone," Scarlet replied, cracking her knuckles. "My fist has a thing or two to say to Charon's face!"

            "And we've got to rescue the lake Pokemon, too," I added, thinking back to what Barry had called the one in Acuity. _Uxie._

If it was who I thought it was...I was going to need to move quickly.

            "I'm gonna go train," Barry muttered.

            "We're gonna stick with Maria and Scarlet," Sonic stated, speaking for his team.

            "I think I'll go look around for Kate," Kellyn stated. "I may not have a Pokemon Partner, but I'm experienced enough to go out on my own."

            Black remained silent. Scarlet seemed to think something was up.

            "Are you worried about something?" she asked.

            Black looked at her for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I've heard rumors that there's been some activity by a place called the Abundant Shrine back in Unova. Cheren, one of my friends, called me a while back and told me that the rumors are true. I'm gonna go and check it out."

            "We could have used your help in the final battle, but if you have to go back, I guess you have to go back," I remarked.

            "I'm pretty sure that you'll do fine," Black replied. "Besides - you're the Champion in three Regions. This shouldn't be too much of a problem."

            "Hey, Black," Brendan said, catching the Unova Trainer's attention.

            Black turned his head. "What?" he asked.

            "I'd kind of like to come along. Unova sounds like it's crawling with all kinds of Pokemon not seen in other Regions, and I'd kind of like to get some."

            Black shrugged. "Fine. Have it your way. It's pretty boring there, though, ever since I halted Team Plasma a while back."

            "Team Plasma, huh?" I repeated. I recalled seeing some news footage, back when I was going around in Kanto and Jhoto a second time. Something about a Trainer with long green hair and a white dragon at his side, facing a Trainer with a black dragon...

            I decided to ask Black about it. "You wouldn't happen to be the Trainer who stopped that guy with the white dragon, would you?"

            Black looked in my direction. "You mean N and Reshiram? Yeah, that was me."

            "Then you're the guy who stopped that weird guy from taking over the world, huh?" Brendan guessed.

            "There's a reason I said 'halted'," Black stated. "The real leader behind the whole thing, Ghestis, managed to get away after I'd fought him. I think he's still out there, somewhere, getting ready to rise up again."

            "You mean, like Team Rocket did," I guessed.

            "Exactly. This Abundant Shrine thing probably isn't him, though - it's too soon after my fight with N, and there are police all over the place. May as well check it out, anyway."

            Scarlet frowned a little. "That black dragon - Zekrom, was it?"

            Black nodded. "That's him; he's not with me now, though; he wanted to stay back in Unova and not attract more attention than he already has."

            "I can see that," Brendan remarked. "Kind of like how Maria doesn't use her Mew very often."

            "Her name is _Aurora_ ," I muttered, frowning at my last memory of the Pokemon. "She doesn't like being called just 'Mew'."

            Barry stared at me, eyes wide. Then he got up from his seat, leaning on his crutches. "That's it! No more waiting around for me. I'm going to go train. See you guys later!"

            He limped off as fast as he could with a casted leg and a pair of crutches, Grotle following after him.

            Black chuckled. "Kind of reminds me of Cheren, back before he became a Gym Leader. That guy just wanted to get more and more powerful, just so that he could be Champion. Alder made him rethink that one."

            Hmm...Alder must be Unova's Champion. I wonder what Type of Pokemon he uses...

            Kellyn got up. "I'd better go, too. Who knows how far away Kate is by now?"

            "Go ahead, then," I stated. "But, before you go, how about we exchange numbers, too keep in touch? PokeGears are interface-able with Stylers."

            "Sure, I guess."

            After both Scarlet and I had given and received numbers with Kellyn, the Ranger left.

            "We should probably do the same thing," Brendan remarked. "I've already got your number, Maria, but not Scarlet's."

            The two shared numbers; then Black did the same with me, Scarlet, and Brendan.

            I frowned slightly as Black's name appeared on my PokeGear's speed dial. "Why does it say your name is -"

            "Don't!" Black interrupted. "Just...just ignore that. I prefer it when people call me Black not...that."

            "Hilbert? Really?" Brendan asked, looking at his PokeGear.

            Black shot him a death look. "What did I just tell Maria?" he growled.

            Brendan looked a little nervous. "Right. Black. Your name is Black, not -"

            "Don't!" Black barked. "Just don't." He sighed irritably. "Come on; if we're to be in Unova before the sun falls, we have to go now." He got up and started to head for the entrance, then turned and looked back at Brendan. "Are you coming or not?"

            "I'm coming," Brendan replied quickly. He shot me a nervous grin, then ran after Black, leaving me, Scarlet, Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails.

            I looked at my Mobian friends. "Well, what do you guys think? Should we head for Veilstone now? Or should we wait until tomorrow morning?"

            "I'd like it if we could go now," Scarlet growled. Zap, who was sitting on her left shoulder, nodded in agreement.

            "We aren't really on fresh legs, though," Knuckles noted. "I suggest we wait until tomorrow before we try anything."

            "Besides - I still have to teach Scarlet how to use her tails," Tails added.

            "Oh, yeah," Scarlet muttered, looking at her tails. "Almost forgot about that..."

            "So, you guys don't mind if I take a look around?" I inquired.

            The others shook their heads.

            "All right, then. Let's go our separate ways and meet back here at nightfall. Sound good?"

            "Sure," Knuckles replied. He looked over in Vent's direction. "Hey, Vent! Let's go train!"

            "Right!" Vent replied. He jumped up from where he was sitting and followed Knuckles out of the building and into the cold.

            "Come on, Scarlet," Tails said as he got up. "Let's go find a quiet place and work on your flight abilities."

            "All right," Scarlet replied as she got up. Zap remained on her shoulder and Gear joined them as they left.

            I looked at Sonic. "So, are you going to go out for a run?" I inquired.

            Sonic shrugged. "The blizzard's gonna keep me from going all that far. I think I'll have a look around and see if they have any chili dog stands around here." The hedgehog got up and walked off, Paul going over to his side as he left.

            I let out a grunt as I stretched, glad to be able to relax for at least a little while. One of the first things on my mind, though, was to stock up on Hyper Potions and Revives before heading to the Galactic HQ. So, I made my way to the PokeMart and used up a good chunk of the cash I had on hand "restocking the larder," so to speak. Once that was out of the way, I decided to wander around Snowpoint for a while, so I grabbed my jacket and went outside.

            It was twilight, now, and the snow reflected the sunset quite beautifully. It looked picture perfect, and I wished that my PokeGear had a camera on it; the sunset looked like it had been painted onto the sky.

            As I was staring up at the sky, I didn't watch where I was going and almost ran into the side of a house. As I backed away, I noticed these strange ruins on the edge of town. Intrigued, I went over to get a better look.

            As I neared the entrance, which was lined with pillars, a woman in a rather thin-looking white dress appeared out of nowhere.

            "Who are you?" I asked.

            "I am the appointed guardian of these ruins," the woman replied. "Who are you? What is your business here?"

            "Maria White," I replied. I went through my backpack and brought out my wallet and opened it up, showing all of my Trainer Licenses from Kanto, Jhoto, and Hoenn, as well as my Ruin License, which I had obtained after discovering all 28 versions of Unknown in the Ruins of Alph. "Is it all right if I look at the ruins here? I promise to leave everything as it was from before I entered."

            The woman considered my words. Then she took out my Ruin License and looked it over. She then returned it to me, saying, "You may enter; just don't go any lower than the ground floor."

            I nodded. "Thank you."

            With that, the woman moved to one side and I walked inside.

            Inside the ruins, I was instantly amazed by how well-preserved the ruins were. Other than the occasional black Pokemon with red feathers and headdresses - Sneasel and Weavile - the place was perpetually untouched and silent as a grave.

            I made my way over to one of the walls and started to decipher the carvings drawn there, muttering as I went: "The creature of continents sleeps here...only steel...rock...and ice can awaken he who slumbers."

            I blinked, then looked over to the stairs that led to the floor below. "Steel, rock, and ice, huh? That probably means the Regis from Hoenn. But what is the creature of continents? Another Golem Pokemon?" I shrugged and looked back at the carvings, expecting to see some sort of story behind the building of the temple, which might hopefully unlock the secret behind this "creature of continents."

            _"EEEYAAAAHH!!!"_

            I jolted, jumping back from the wall when I heard the scream come from somewhere below me. I looked around quickly for a set of stairs, then started to run over to them.

            I stopped when I nearly ran down them, however, when I remembered the promise that I'd made to the ruin's guardian to only stay on this floor.

            I stood there, debating whether or not I really wanted to break that promise and go down there, or just stand there and listen to the screams. Of course, it wasn't in my nature to stand by and let someone get hurt, so I sent an apologetic glance to the entrance and ran down to the next floor.

            As soon as I reached the base of the stairs, I found out what the problem was.

            A pink hedgehog in a red dress was being chased around by a rather angry-looking Weavile. Trying to keep pace with the hedgehog was a little pink blob I identified as a Jigglypuff.

            "Hey!" I shouted, catching their attention. "Over here! Hurry!"

            The hedgehog changed course from running deeper into the ruin and came at me instead, the Jigglypuff not very far behind. The Weavile ran after them, too. As they neared the stairs, I moved to one side to let the hedgehog and the Jigglypuff by me, then threw Sparks' PokeBall out.

            Sparks glared at the Weavile, her Intimidate ability going to work. The Dark/Ice Type skidded to a halt and looked at the two of us for a moment. Then it turned tail and ran off into the ruins.

            I walked back up to the first floor, satisfied that the Weavile hadn't attacked, and was tackled by the hedgehog.

            "Thank you for saving me back there!" she exclaimed as she hugged me. "I thought no one would ever come and get me out of there."

            "It was no problem," I replied with a smile. "The name's Maria, and this is my Luxray, Sparks. Who might you be?"

            The hedgehog released me and messed with the hem of her dress for a moment. Then she grinned at me and said, "The name's Amy, and this is Puff." She gestured to the Jigglypuff, who waved at me. "We were exploring when that thing came out and attacked us."

            "It's called a Weavile," I explained. "They, and their pre-evolved form, Sneasel, are pretty common around here, seeing as this is a rather cold area. How did you get up here, anyway? The route from south to north is almost impossible to navigate, thanks to that blizzard."

            Amy shrugged. "I don't know. One minute, I was in Station Square with a couple of my friends, and the next thing I knew, I was in this cold place! Puff was the first friend I made, and he's helped me get around a lot. But...everything around here is so strange! Like that creature back there."

            It took me only a moment to put two and two together. Amy was clearly a part of Sonic's world, and had been abruptly dragged here just like the others. "Well, that's probably because this isn't the world you know. The creatures around here are called Pokemon -- that includes Puff and Sparks. No one has seen anything like you in a _really_ long time."

            Amy looked startled. "You can't be serious!"

            "I am serious," I replied. "Mobians are called 'PokeMorphs' in the legends, because you looked like you could morph into Pokemon or human form."

Amy looked a little worried. "But then..what if that means I'm the only Mobian left?" She started to cry loudly at the thought. "I won't be able to see Sonic again!"

            Puff looked concerned. He bounced up onto her right shoulder and tried to comfort her.

            At Amy's mentioning of Sonic, I thought back to when we were at Lake Valor, looking at the pictures of the Mobians of Sonic's past. A hedgehog that looked just like Amy was among them.

            "How about you come with me for a while?" I suggested to the hedgehog. "Anywhere would be better than this cold place, right?"

            Amy looked at me, tears still streaming from her emerald green eyes. "Y-you mean it?" she asked.

            I nodded, returning Sparks to her PokeBall. "Sure. Come on; let's head over to the Pokemon Center and get you warmed up."

            As we left the ruins, I looked for the ruin guardian and, spotting her, explained what had happened. She didn't mind that I had rescued Amy from the Weavile, and stated that if I had tried to go any deeper, a teleport device would have sent me back to the entrance, since I wasn't a Pokemon Champion of Sinnoh yet.

            I let out a sigh of relief. "It's good that I didn't get into any trouble," I stated. "Would it be all right if I came back later with a couple friends and give the first floor another look at another time? The Unown words here are pretty interesting, and I'd like to decipher them when I'm not training my team."

            The ruin guardian looked me over for a moment. "So long as you don't bring her back," she stated curtly, nodding in Amy's direction.

            The hedgehog bristled. "Why? Is there something wrong with me?"

            "Uh... Let's just get going, Amy," I said nervously. Something about the hedgehog -- I don't know what it was -- was telling me that getting her mad would be a _very bad idea._ "Taking out a ruin guardian is worse than being banned from going into one ruin."

            The Mobian sighed, as if trying to let all of her anger out in one breath. "Fine," she muttered. "Where's that Pokemon Center you mentioned?"

            "This way," I replied, walking in the direction of the red building.

            "So, how is it that you know I'm a Mobian?" Amy asked. Obviously, she had picked up that I knew something more than the average Trainer.

            "I read things in the ruins," I replied coolly. I didn't know how smart the kid actually was, seeing as Sonic had described her as being a kid who turned herself into a teenager.

            "But you said the ruins called Mobians 'PokeMorphs'," Amy pointed out.

            OK, so she's smart enough to put two and two together.

            "You'll figure it out when we get to the Center," I stated with a sly smile. "One of my friends can help me explain it."

            Amy and Puff looked at each other. I didn't try to see what the look translated as, because we were coming up on the Pokemon Center.

            As we stepped inside, I looked around for Scarlet and Team Sonic, trying to see if any of them were back yet from their separate excursions. Knuckles was nowhere to be seen, so I guess that he and Vent were probably out sparring somewhere, maybe with a wild Medicham or Machoke. Tails and Scarlet weren't around, either, so they were probably still out, too. The only thing I saw that hinted at the presence of any one of them was a large stack of hot dogs with a red sauce of some sort on top. Those were probably the chili dogs Sonic was talking about earlier.

            Amy took note of the pile of chili dogs sitting there on one of the tables. She gave me a curious look.

            I shrugged. "May as well see who's eating them," I remarked. "No one can eat that much all by themselves."

            "I know of one person who can," Amy murmured.

            As we neared the pile of chili dogs, I took note that there was a claw reaching out and grabbing one occasionally, while something else was chomping loudly. I guess that Sonic was eating the dogs at a pretty fast pace.

            Amy walked up to the pile of chili dogs, a curious look on her face. "Excuse me?" she asked politely.

            The chomping suddenly stopped; it was followed by a loud gulp. "Yeah?" asked a voice. Definitely Sonic eating those chili dogs.

            "Are you planning on eating these all by yourself?" Amy inquired.

            There was an indignant squawk from the other side, and Paul hopped up onto the table and around the chili dogs in order to see who was asking the question. He sized Amy up, then told Sonic something in his bird language.

            A blue, spiny head looked around the chili dog pile. "Pink Sandslash?" Sonic asked. "What do you mean by that?"

            Amy instantly had the speedster in a tight hug. "Sonic!" she exclaimed. "You're here, too!"

            "Amy!" Sonic exclaimed. He looked a little nervous to find the pink hedgehog holding him close. "You mind? I can't breathe!"

            Amy giggled and released him. "Sorry; I'm just so glad that I'm not the only one stuck here! Aren't you?"

            Sonic shrugged. "I've known about others for a while."

            "Others?" Amy repeated. "You mean, other Mobians?"

            I answered for Sonic. "Tails and Knuckles are here, too."

            "Really?" Amy looked around, excited. "Where are they?"

            "Out and about," Sonic replied carelessly. "Knuckles took Vent, his Lucario, out for training a while back, and Tails is trying to teach a friend of mine how to fly properly. Shadow and St. John are in this time, too, only I'm not quite sure where they are."

            Amy frowned when I mentioned the skunk. "Great. If St. John's here, then Naugus might be, too."

            "I doubt it," Sonic replied calmly. "I mean, we would have heard something about weather going out of whack or something like that."

            The main doors of the Pokemon Center burst open, and Knuckles, Tails, Scarlet, and their Pokemon walked in as a extreme blizzard was going on outside.

            "Looks like you spoke too soon," Amy remarked dryly.

            Sonic sent her a glare that went unnoticed.

            I looked outside, trying to see through the curtain of snow that was coming down. "There's some sort of figure out there, and he's got a scepter," I reported.

            "It's Ixis Naugus," Knuckles explained. "Somehow, he was brought to this time, too."

            I ran to the PC and started to go through my Boxes, considering which ones to take in order to fight the evil wizard who was said to take over the Kingdom of Acorn at one point. The Mobians seemed to guess what I was doing.

            "That sort of thing isn't going to work," Sonic warned. "This guy is a master of the elements; he can turn any attack that you throw at him back at you. The only way to stop him is with a sword that stops evil magic."

            "He's only a master of the natural elements," I countered. "Depending on how long this guy's been here, I can stop him with one of my other Pokemon." I held up a Cherish Ball and grinned. "You remember this guy, don't you, Scarlet?"

            The Ranger's eyes widened. "You don't mean Jirachi, do you?" she asked.

            I nodded, a huge grin on my face. "This guy has the move that can take this wizard-guy down," I stated.

            "And what makes you say that?" Knuckles asked.

            "You'll see," I replied, zipping my coat up all the way. "If you need me, I'll be stopping Naugus." With that, I made my way to the door. To my surprise, the others decided to follow me out.

            "We'll back you up," Sonic explained to me. "Just in case your little idea doesn't work."

            We walked out into the blizzard and fought our way over to where the figure was standing, waving his scepter like he was conducting a band.

            "Hey, Ixis Noogie!" Sonic called. "Drop the scepter and no one gets hurt."

            There was some maniacal laughter from the figure. "So we meet again, Quickster!" a voice hissed. "It is a pleasure to have you here to watch me conquer this place."

            "This place is used to blizzards, you know that?" I called. "Every home probably has a survival kit somewhere to let them last for weeks without stepping one foot outside! For an all-powerful Elemental Wizard, you think like an idiot."

            There was another hiss, and the snow in front of us parted to reveal the figure more properly. As soon as I saw him, a headache slammed into the back of my head, causing me to wince as _something_ got into my head and dropped a large amount of knowledge into my head.

            I shook my head and looked at Ixis Naugus again, now knowing that he was a Mobian who was a mix between a bat, rhino, and lobster. Once I'd gotten past the fact that he looked disgustingly ugly in a crown and with that nasty beard of his, I noticed that there were two Chaos Emeralds on a scepter the Mobian was holding: red and purple.

            There was also a spot for a third Emerald, but it looked like it had been torn out by a powerful force. Sonic noticed it, too.

            "So that's how Shadow got the green Emerald back," the hedgehog noted. He grinned hugely. "That means you aren't as powerful as you were before! Maria, what abut that little friend of yours?"

            "Jirachi, I summon thee!" I called, throwing the Cherish Ball into the air. Jirachi came out instantly, a large grin on his face.

            _"About time you let me out of there!"_ he told me, stretching his mini limbs. _"Who do you want to beat?"_

            I pointed at Naugus. "Use that ultimate move of yours and knock that PokeMorph down a power peg."

            Jirachi looked at Naugus and let out a shudder. _"Anything to get him out of my sight!"_ The three tags on his head started to glow as he lifted his hands in a skyward direction.

            The wizard took one look at the Legendary Pokemon and laughed. "Do you really think that this puny creature can defeat me?"

            Jirachi gave him an annoyed look. _"Judge me by my size, do you? You're gonna pay for that!"_ He swung his arms down as the sky suddenly darkened. "Draco Meteor!"

            Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy gawked as gigantic meteors plummeted from the sky and hit Naugus dead-on.

            I grinned hugely at the smoking form in front of us. "What do you think of Jirachi now, huh? Not so puny now, is he?"

            Jirachi chuckled weakly. _"Let's hope he doesn't get up for a while. I don't think I have enough attack power in me for another one of those."_

            Scarlet and Zap exchanged glances as the blizzard started to die down around us. Scarlet then looked at Sonic and asked, "What, in your opinion, are all of the elements in existence?"

            Sonic thought for a moment. "Well, there's wind, fire, earth, and water," he stated, "but through those he has access to other things, such as the snowstorm we were just standing in."

            "Meaning he probably doesn't have any control over, say, electricity?"

I started to kind of see where Scarlet was going. "Or, maybe, steel? Or, perhaps, psychic abilities?"

            Tails shrugged. "Maybe. Just don't try anything dark; Naugus learned how to shadow meld when he lost his mind in the Egg Grapes."

            "Noted," Scarlet acknowledged. "So, what are we going to do with this guy?"

            "First, we're going to get these away from him," I replied, going over and grabbing the scepter. "Jirachi, can you use Psychic to release these gems from the scepter?"

            The Legendary nodded. _"Sure thing, Maria. One Psychic attack, coming up!"_

            The claws holding the Emeralds in place shook for a moment before slowly being prayed back. Knuckles took the gems from the scepter just before Jirachi stopped the move. Much to our surprise, the claws snapped shut rather quickly.

            "Well, that's that," Knuckles remarked. He gave Sonic the purple Emerald and placed the red one in his dreadlocks. "Now, if Shadow has the green one, and we have two more, that leaves four missing, plus the Master Emerald."

            "Whole or in shards, do you think?" Sonic asked carelessly.

            "Guess we'll find out," I remarked, recalling that the giant green gem Knuckles guarded had been shattered twice in the past. I'm glad that the stories were recorded properly in the ruins.

            Amy looked from me to Scarlet, then at Team Sonic. "I'm a little confused, here. Could someone please tell me what's going on?"

            "Sure, we got the time," I replied coolly. "Let's just do it inside, away from the cold."

            Naugus let out a low moan.

            "And after we take care of gruesome here," Sonic noted. He grabbed Naugus' cape and hauled him up. "Hey, Jirachi - you think you could open up a portal?"

            Jirachi cocked his head. _"A portal? Why?"_

            Sonic smirked. "I know exactly where to send this guy off to. Can you do it?"

            Jirachi thought for a moment, then nodded. _"Just say, 'I wish for a portal to open,' and don't forget to say where you want to to open up to."_

            Sonic nodded. "All right, then. I wish for a portal to the No Zone Jail to open."

            I frowned as Jirachi's tags started glowing.

            "No Zone Jail?" I repeated.

            Sonic smirked. "Yup; that's where the most evil villains from each dimension go after they've been arrested." A hole suddenly opened up in the air in front of us, revealing a sprawling complex. "Here we go." Raising his voice, he called out, "Hey, Zonic! Here's a gift from me!" He tossed Naugus into the portal, which promptly vanished.

            Sonic then looked over at Jirachi. "Do you have Warp Ring tech in you or something?" he asked.

            Jirachi looked a little confused, then shook his head. _"Nah. I've just got this ability that allows me to grant certain things to certain people. I can't, say, turn Scarlet back into a human, but with a little Dragon power, I can open up a hole in space and send someone somewhere; I can't do that very often, though. Palkia would have my head on a platter if I did it more than once every hundred years or so."_

            Amy blinked. "Turn Scarlet back into a human?" she repeated. She turned and looked the mentioned human-turned-Mobian over. "But she looks like a normal Mobian to me."

            Scarlet lifted one of her hands and caused her spikes to appear, startling the pink hedgehog. "Call me normal, do you? I'm a combination of those three over there, plus the fact that I originally used to be a human Pokemon Ranger. I'm not from your time, girl."

            "The name's Amy," Amy stated matter-of-factly. "Amy Rose. And this is Puff," she added, motioning to the Pokemon. "I was in these ruins, being chased around by these weird-looking creatures, when Maria found me."

            "How about we do this inside?" I suggested as a cold wind passed through. "The temperature's dropping pretty quickly, and I don't plan on freezing to death."

            The others nodded, and we walked back into the Pokemon Center and ordered some hot chocolate.

            "So, what's with the Pokemon with you guys?" Amy asked as we sat down.

            "That's Paul," Sonic explained, motioning to the Pidgeotto. "He's a Pokemon called a Pidgeotto."

            "This is Gear," Tails added, introducing his Klang.

            "And this is Vent," Knuckles stated, motioning to the Lucario.

            "And this is my Pokemon Partner, Zap," Scarlet finished. "And, as has already been said, I'm Scarlet."

            "And I am Maria," I reintroduced. "The five of us ran into each other not too long ago, and we've been trying to stop a group called Team Galactic. We're going to be invading their main headquarters tomorrow."

            Amy looked a little surprised. "Wow; I missed a lot. A final assault already?"

            Knuckles nodded. "Yeah; it probably might have lasted a little longer if Eggman was here."

            "But he isn't," Tails pointed out, "and that makes things easier."

            Puff let out a loud yawn; so did Jirachi. I nodded in agreement at what they implied.

            "Yeah; we probably should be going to bed," I stated.

            I could feel Sonic's and Knuckles' gazes digging into me, causing me to turn and look at them. I knew what it was that they were wondering about, and what they wanted to know what my answer was.

            Was I going to take up Aurora's offer? Or not?

            I gave them a slight nod, getting odd looks from Scarlet and the others.

            Scarlet frowned; I knew she could tell something was off. After a moment, she sighed and nodded in agreement. "Come on; let's go find the room Maria reserved."

            As Scarlet and the others started towards where the room was, I turned to look over at Sonic and Knuckles, who'd stayed behind.

            "I actually reserved two rooms," I said, grinning sheepishly. "Since we've got so many people, I was thinking that the boys and the girls would want separate rooms. If everyone's cramming into the one, we can use the other one for whatever it is that Aurora's planning on doing."

            Sonic smirked at that. "Sounds good to me."

            Knuckles huffed. "You're just saying that because you can stay away from Amy that way."

            "Well, yeah!"

            I laughed at Sonic's response. "Okay, okay; how about we head back to that other room and get this over with."

            We made our way over to the other room I'd reserved, and I shut and locked the door behind us.

            "Okay." I sat down on the floor, Sonic and Knuckles joining me. "Aurora! I know you've been following me. Show yourself!"

            The Mew materialized not very far ahead of us, long tail swaying.

            _"You've made your decision?"_ she asked.

            I nodded. "Yeah; we're going with it. What do you need to do?"

            _"Just remain still. I will handle the rest."_ Aurora in between us. _"Do not be afraid by what I am about to do. It's the only way for you to rediscover your past."_

The Mew raised her arms, and _something_ pulsed.

            An instant later, the three of us were standing in an empty room with whitewashed walls, without Aurora.

            As we looked around, confused, a woman suddenly materialized in a beam of light. She was taller than I was, and she had red-gold hair and eyes that were a sky blue. And she was wearing a red T-shirt and a jacket that had a red-and-orange flame pattern and jeans, with red shoes with a zipper down the front.

            The woman eyed us. "Huh. I didn't expect you to pick two Mobians for a memory revival."


	26. Chapter 26

The statement -- and the woman herself -- startled me. "Who are you? And where are we?"

            The woman inclined her head. "Aurora sent all of you into a subconscious plane. You're actually experiencing a jointed dream."

            I let out a groan. "Hypnosis? Really?"

            The woman nodded. "While you're here, you can call me M, just to tell the difference between us."

            Sonic frowned. "Are you...Maria's memory?"

            M paused, as if considering the question. Then she gave a curt nod. "I'm the person who will be helping Maria recover her missing memories."

            "And how are we going to do that, exactly?" Knuckles asked, raising an eyebrow.

            M grinned. "We're going to end up playing a little bit of a game."

            "A game?" I frowned. "What sort?"

            "We're going to look at the dreams you've been having, then at a few figures I'm going to show you. You have to match the shadow from the dream with the figure. The more you match correctly, the more memories return."

            "What if we get one wrong?" Sonic asked, voicing a question I would have asked anyway.

            "Then it'll be a little bit harder to regain that specific memory," M shrugged. "If you get too many wrong concerning a specific memory, what we do here isn't going to help it return; instead, the waking world will have to provide the answers." She grinned at me. "Shall we begin?"

            I looked at Sonic and Knuckles, then nodded. "Let's do this."

            M nodded in confirmation. "All right, then. First memory!"

            A screen appeared on one of the whitewashed walls, and hidden lights dimmed as something began to play...

**Memory Break**

_A girl with brown hair was thrown out of a green hammock, causing her glasses to go askew. Her blue eyes snapped open, and she scrambled to her feet and glared at the reason for the sudden disruption._

_"There are better ways to wake someone up," she hissed as she pointed a staff with the head of a phoenix at the shadow in front of her, despite the fact that there was a gun being pointed in her face. The teen wasn't feeling too nice because of the sudden wake-up call. "Do that again and you'll pay for it, R-."_

_The shadow let out a laugh, the gun in its hand not moving even as it threw back its head. "And how are you going to make me pay, little lady? In case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered." He motioned to the figures wearing gas masks behind the shadow. They had the pair surrounded, their guns pointed at the girl. "Now, be a good girl and tell me where our friends are."_

_"Our friends?" the girl repeated. "I wouldn't consider all this," she motioned to the guns with a glare, "being friendly." She returned her glare to the man in front of her. "Besides, we all split after dinner, remember? I came here to get a nap." She eyed the hammock meaningfully, the reused tarp now lying on the ground underneath the shadow's feet._

_"Not the answer I was looking for," the shadow growled in response. It brought the gun closer to the girl's head. "We already found the two boys you seem to like so much. Now, where are T- and the -?"_

**Memory Break**

            There was a sudden flash of light, and the vision faded as the lights came back on.

            "I can tell there was more to it," Sonic remarked. "Why didn't we see the rest of it?"

            "That's because Maria woke up at that point," M replied, looking over at me with some sort of disgruntled glare. "It's incomplete, a fragment of a memory, and we need to identify someone who was involved in it before we can continue."

            "Why did we have to start with the one I had last night?" I asked.

            "The further back into your visions we go, the more fuzzy they'll get. If you can identify the figures in the more clear ones, then the fuzzy visions will be easier to deal with. Now, the person that is mainly looked at in this one is the big shadow."

            "You mean, the one with the gun," I stated.

            M nodded. "Just match him with a figure, and you can see the rest of the memory fragment." She motioned to the wall the screen had been on, and a few figures grew up from the floor, forming different muscular men in different poses: one man was bald and happened to be flexing, another in a red shirt had a shock of white hair and had a gun in his hands, and the third had a graying head and was wearing a green sleeves muscle shirt while standing in a confident position.

            Sonic, Knuckles, and I looked the forms over.

            "Well, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would act like that," Knuckles noted as he motioned to the man who was showing off his muscles. "That one kind of looks like he's showing off."

            "And this guy doesn't look like that voice would match," Sonic added, pointing to the man that was pointing a gun at us.

            "Which means it's probably this guy," I finished, touching the confident pose.

As soon as I touched it, the figure gained a shadow, which caused the entire wall to blacken and change into the memory again.

**Memory Break**

            _"There are better ways to wake someone up," the girl hissed as she pointed her red staff at the man in front of her, despite the fact that there was a gun being pointed in her face. The teen wasn't feeling too nice because of the sudden wake-up call. "Do that again and you'll pay for it, Rourke."_

I felt my blood freeze as I heard the name. Rourke. That was definitely familiar, now.

_The mentioned man let out a laugh, the gun in his hand not moving even as he threw back his head. "And how are you going to make me pay, little lady? In case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered." He motioned to the crew members wearing gas masks. They had the pair surrounded, their guns pointed at the girl. "Now, be a good girl and tell me where our friends are."_

_"Our friends?" the girl repeated. "I wouldn't consider all this," she motioned to the guns with a glare, "being friendly." She returned her glare to the man in front of her. "Besides, we all split after dinner, remember? I came here to get a nap." She eyed the hammock meaningfully, the reused tarp now lying on the ground underneath Rourke's boots._

            _"Not the answer I was looking for," Rourke growled in response. He brought the gun closer to the girl's head. "We already found the two boys you seem to like so much. Now, where are T- and the p-?"_

The other two blanks weren't filled up? Shoot!

_The girl's eyes narrowed, and she did her best to calmly adjust her glasses so that she could see at least somewhat without everything having a fuzzy edge. Eyeing the guns again - and figuring that she wouldn't be able to burn through the weapons before getting fired at - she wondered if she had enough courage to dare to not say anything about where the two being asked about were at._

_"Kid, I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you're thinking," Rourke suddenly spoke up. "But I would be worried about your two friends." He stepped aside, revealing two more shadows. They kept turning their heads to look around at the guns and gas masks._

            _"Look, I'm not scared of you, elephant face," one of the shadows growled. "And I'd be glad to prove it -"_

_The other shadow elbowed the first one. "These aren't Dream Eaters, L-."_

_The first shadow snorted. "Yeah, yeah."_

_Guns were clicked and aimed at the shadows' heads._

_"But you do know that this is getting on my nerves," the first shadow continued, glaring at the weapons._

_"Get in line," the second replied dryly._

**Memory Break**

            I shook my head as the world blurred once again, my mind filling up with information.

            "Maria, are you all right?" Knuckles asked.

            "Fine," I replied, looking around the whitewashed room once again. "What just happened?"

            "You kind of flickered for a moment, and then the guy on the wall disappeared," Sonic explained, motioning to the now empty wall. "What happened to you?"

            "Well, I guess I entered the memories. The odd thing was, though..." I frowned. "I was kind of floating outside of myself, I guess. And there were a couple other shadows, too."

            M looked curious. "You mean, you don't know?"

            "Know what?" I asked.

            M shrugged. "It's probably nothing; you'll figure it out."

            Knuckles looked at me. "So, who was that guy?"

            "His name was...Rourke," I replied, trying to bring up the information I had obtained from just one memory.

            Almost instantly, the whitewashed room became some sort of room made out of some kind of grid -- almost like the inside of a computer. The figure of Rourke formed, and his backstory materialized beside him.

            "Hmm..." Knuckles said as he looked it over. "Treasure hunts for hire...master in combat...was turned into a giant crystal statue and...?" The echidna frowned. "Looks like some of the information is missing."

            I frowned. "Giant Crystal statue?"

The entire room started flashing with different visions, and I flinched as I got a headache. How I got a headache within my own head? I'll never know.

            The walls changed from data to a cave. A balloon of some sort was rising up in the distance, and a giant crystal version of Roark was roaring. In pain.

            Because there were white tendrils of fire going in and thing him from all directions. They disappeared a moment after he shattered.

            The pictures disappeared, but my headache didn't. Those white tendrils...why did they seem so familiar...?

            Wait. "White Flare..."

            The statement echoed like some forgotten name. I think I might have used it once before, when I wasn't a Trainer yet. I quickly realized where I had first heard it.

            "Lea and Riku," I stated, looking over at M. "They were the two other shadows in that memory." More information entered my mind. Keyblade wielders...they protected worlds with others! But who?

            M gave another nod, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Right. Do you remember why they were there with you? Or where you were?"

            Sheesh, for my memory, she doesn't have to be proddy about it. But then again...

            "I think they were there to help stop Rourke from taking away an entire city's power source..." I trailed off and frowned. "Wait. That doesn't quite sound right..."

            Before I could say anything else, the room shifted to the tropical area my first memory had been taking place in, only without all the people.

            Sonic glanced over at the pool of water and glared at it while Knuckles inspected the trampled hammock.

            "Looks like you've unlocked something," M remarked. "Think you can remember where we are?"

            "Looks like a courtyard of the Atlantean king's palace." I blinked in surprise and slapped my hands over my mouth. "Since when did I know that?!"

            "Your memory's coming back more," Knuckled noted.

            "So, where did you say we were?" Sonic asked.

            It took me a moment to gather my thoughts.

            "Atlantis," I stated. "According to human myths, it's a city that disappeared underwater during some sort of disaster." I frowned. "But, in this place, we're not underwater."

            "Well, obviously," Knuckles muttered.

            "We're in a cave underwater." I think I'm starting to get used to this adjusting to new memory. But since when did I know this stuff. "Problem is, though, I haven't heard anything about Atlantis in the ruins in the area..."

            "That'll come," M smirked. "Just wait."

            _"Maria, it might be best if you returned to that other room now."_

            I looked up sharply when I heard Aurora's voice. "What? Why?"

            _"Your allies might be worried if they find that you're not in the room when you wake up in the morning."_

            I frowned at that. "Well, I guess they _could_ be worried."

            As soon as the words were out of my mouth, my eyes snapped open, and I instantly felt a stiffness in my back.

            I grunted and shifted, cracking my back. "Okay, we'd better head back."

            "I couldn't agree with you more," Sonic agreed, getting to his feet.

            As we slipped out of the one room and started making our way back to the other one, I started to feel a headache coming on. Instinctively, I gripped at a prism-shaped item I always kept under my shirt, but that just made it worse. Information started to come in at a fast pace: _-the face of a girl with a blue cap on her head and a wrench in her hand - Italian with a stick of dynamite - a mole of a man - a mountain-doctor of a man - a princess with white hair - a skinny man with large glasses -_

_-a redhead and a silver-haired boy, each armed with what look like giant keys-_

I shook my head as the information poured in. Sonic and Knuckles, noticing that I wasn't following them, turned around in order to see what exactly was happening.

            "You OK?" Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow.

            I gave a nod. "Yeah, I think so. Just a lot more info that I didn't get a couple minutes ago." Doing my best to ignore my headache, I started towards the room at a slightly quicker pace. "Come on. I'd like to lie down somewhere decent."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "M" isn't a part of Maria's subconscious. Originally, she was, but now, she's something else. A part of another story that blended in with Maria's. Who or what she is, I'll leave up to you to find out.


	27. Chapter 27

**Scarlet's POV**

When I woke up the next morning, I saw that Maria, Sonic, and Knuckles were lying in different positions on the floor: Sonic and Knuckles had their backs against the wall by the door, and Maria was sitting under the computer desk. All three looked really out of it, and hadn't been able to take the other bunk bed because that one was being used by Zap, Vent, Paul, and Gear.

            As I slipped out of the lower bunk, trying not to wake up Amy (who had decided against sleeping on the floor), Tails let out a yawn from the upper bunk and looked down at the rest of the room.

            "Morning!" he called down.

            "Morning," I replied with a grin. "You up for heading to a warmer climate today?"

            The two-tailed fox nodded. "Sure am!" He jumped off the top bunk, landing on his feet with a thud on the floor. "We're going to have to head back to Celestic Town to get the plane first, though."

            "Shouldn't be too hard," Maria grunted from below the desk. "Star can easily fly a few of us back down and avoid the blizzard; it'll probably take a few trips, though."

            Sonic let out a yawn and stretched out. "Hey, guys," he greeted as he got up from the floor. "What're you talking about?"

            "Heading back to Celestic to get Tails' plane," Maria replied. "We could easily use Star to get us down there, and maybe Paul, too, if we teach him how to use fly."

            Sonic looked like he was struck with an idea. "Or..." He reached into his head quills and brought out the purple Emerald. "We could use Chaos Control and get there no problem."

            I blinked. "Chaos Control? That was what Shadow used, wasn't it?"

            "That's right," Knuckles confirmed from where he sat on the floor. He got up as he continued, "It's an ability that utilizes Chaos Energy to allow you to warp to wherever you want to be. Shadow uses the ability the most."

            Amy let out a yawn. Puff, who was sleeping on her chest, got up and looked around, eyes bright.

            "Morning," Maria greeted cheerily as Amy got out of bed.

            "Morning," Amy replied. "So, what are we doing?"

            "Well, we're going to head down to Veilstone to attack Team Galactic," Maria explained. "However, we need to get Tails' plane from Celestic Town. Sonic suggested we try and use Chaos Control, rather than travel on foot or use our Flying-Types."

            Amy frowned. "I thought only Shadow could use it," she remarked.

            "I've used it once," Sonic stated. "When I was expelled from Colony ARK with an explosive. Remember seeing that explode? I used the fake Emerald to Chaos Control out of there. I think I can do it again."

            "If you're going to try, we should probably do it outside," Knuckles remarked. "Who knows what it could end up doing to this room?"

            "We need to let Nurse Joy we're leaving, anyway," Maria added.

            We gathered up our things (and Maria fled to the bathroom to shower and change into an outfit consisting of a red shirt, yellow jacket, and jeans), returned the Pokemon to their PokeBalls, then went outside.

            The sun had already gotten above the horizon, and the morning colors were almost gone. Maria took note of this and let out a sigh.

            "Looks like we missed a beaut of a sunrise," she noted. "Ah, well. There's always tomorrow morning." She looked at Sonic, who was now tossing the Chaos Emerald into the air with one hand. "You ready for this?"

            Sonic snatched the Emerald and grinned. "Let's do it to it! Everybody grab on!"

            Amy instantly latched onto Sonic's left arm, a huge grin on her face. Tails and Knuckles each grabbed an area on Sonic's right arm, leaving me and Scarlet to try and find a proper spot to hold onto.

            Amy moved up Sonic's arm to his shoulder. "You can grab on here, Maria."

            Maria smiled. "Thanks, but no thanks. I can tell that there isn't going to be enough room. How about you go along, Scarlet?"

            "Me?" I repeated. After a moment, I shrugged. "Sure, I guess." I went over and held onto Sonic's left hand.

            Sonic frowned as he looked at Maria. "What are you going to do, then?"

            "Star can take me to Celestic," Maria replied, releasing the Flying-Type. "You guys can go on ahead, just as long as you actually get there."

            "Oh, we'll get there," Sonic replied with a grin. "I remember what Celestic Town looks like."

            "See you there, then!" Maria then got onto Star and took off, heading to the south.

            Sonic grinned. "Here goes." He lifted up the Emerald a little. "Chaos Control!"

            There was a flash, and we were instantly surrounded by some sort of vortex, by the looks of it. Before I could blink, we were in Celestic Town, right next to the plane.

            I looked around, a little surprised. So did the others.

            Sonic grinned in delight. "I knew that would work!" he declared. He placed the purple Emerald back in his head quills. "Now, all we gotta do is wait for Maria." The hedgehog walked over to a nearby tree and sat down with his back leaning against it. It wasn't long before he had fallen asleep.

            I frowned. "Didn't you guys get enough sleep last night?" I asked Knuckles.

            Knuckles nodded. "It's just that Sonic usually does that in order to relax. Either that, or running."

            "And, since we're waiting for Maria, napping would probably be better, seeing as we're going to attack Team Galactic pretty soon," Tails added as he looked over his plane. When his inspection was done, he nodded in approval. "Everything's in order; all we really need now is Maria."

            Since we had time to relax, I decided to let Zap out of his PokeBall. He came out looking like he had just gone through an electric storm; his fur was standing on end. Literally.

            The Pachirisu glared at me and tried to scold me, shaking a small fist as he chattered.

            Sonic opened one eye. "Watch your mouth, Zap. We get that you don't like being in there."          The hedgehog then went back to sleeping.

            Zap glared at the hedgehog, then let out an annoyed sigh. He looked up at me.

            "I get it, Zap," I stated. "I know you're used to being out and about with me. But, sometimes you have to go in there for a little while. You know what I mean?"

            My Partner Pokemon nodded. I could tell he didn't like it.

            "Hey, guys!" Maria called from above. We all looked up as Maria had Star land next to the Tornado. "What was the time difference?"

            "Fifteen minutes," Tails replied. "The plane wasn't sabotaged while we were gone, so we can head out whenever you're ready."

            Maria nodded in approval. "Just give me a moment to stock up on Hyper Potions and Revives, and we can go after Team Galactic." Leaving Star standing next to the plane, the Trainer ran for a house nearby with a PokeMart sign in front. She returned a few minutes later with a slightly more bulging backpack. "Ready!"

            "Good," Sonic stated as he jumped up onto his usual spot. "Let's do it to it!"

            The rest of us quickly moved to our locations: Knuckles and I jumped onto the vacant wing, and Amy got on Sonic's. Zap chose the passenger's seat, as usual. Within a minute, we were up in the air, heading south for warmer climates - and the Galactic HQ.

            As we flew, Amy kept sending me these glances. They kind of made me feel...uneasy. Knuckles took note.

            "I think Amy usually does that," he told me. "Remember - she's got a crush on Sonic, so she's kinda...protective."

            "Even though he loves someone else?" I asked. "That girl named Sally?"

            The echidna nodded. "Though, I think that she thinks he's up for grabs, considering that we don't even know if Sally's alive. Just don't try to make her mad."

            I frowned. "It's got something to do with that hammer Sonic mentioned earlier, doesn't it?"

            "Yeah," Maria replied. She flew up along our side of the plane. "I actually saw her almost pull it out of nowhere and use it on someone yesterday. The ruin guardian didn't want her going back into the Snowpoint ruins, and Amy took it the wrong way. I'm lucky she didn't go any further than pulling it out."

            "At least she didn't try and actually use it," Knuckles remarked.

            Star let out a cry and began to descend. The Tornado, under Tails' direction, followed. We landed in a grove of trees to the south of the city.

            As we got off the plane and Maria got off Star, Sonic grinned at Knuckles.

            "This'll almost be like old times, won't it?" he asked.

            "Almost," Knuckles agreed. "Eggman was more of a challenge than these creeps." He released Vent from his Friend Ball, as the others did the same for their Pokemon; Amy, however, didn't do anything like that, because Puff didn't have a sphere just yet.

            "O.K.," Maria remarked. "Let's go."

            We left the plane behind and walked into the city.

**Spacial Break**

            "The Abundant Shrine is just up ahead!" Black called to Brendan. "We just have to go up a waterfall."

            Then two boy Trainers were in the Unova region, en route to the Abundant Shrine on foot. A heavy fog was encompassing them, so it was rather hard to see where they were going properly. Also, the sound of rushing water from the river didn't help much when it came to hearing each other.

            "A waterfall?" Brendan repeated. He was having a bit of a hard time finding his way around, thanks to the heavy fog. "Is that what's causing this fog?"

            "It's the weather," Black replied. "The Route is usually clear in summer. Come on; the bridge is up ahead."

            Brendan looked around in confusion. "Bridge? What bridge?" He suddenly slipped on a slick, wooden surface and landed flat on his face behind Black.

            "This bridge," Black replied with a smirk. He helped the Hoenn Trainer up. "You don't have much experience with fog, do you?"

            Brendan let out a grunt as he got up fully. "There isn't any fog to really worry about in Hoenn; the only spot's on the peak of Mt. Pyre, and that isn't as thick as this stuff."

            Black reached for his belt and removed a PokeBall. "Are you ready to do this? You can turn back and retreat to Undella Town if you want."

            Brendan glared at him, grabbing a blue PokeBall of his own, which was called a DiveBall by the Trainer community. "I'm not going to turn back just because of some silly rumor. I fought at Maria's side when we faced Groudon and Kyogre! Go, Relicanth!"

            The strange, ancient Water/Rock-Type landed in the river with a loud splash.

            Black looked impressed. "You managed to find one of those elusive Pokemon, huh? Wish I had one of those." He tossed out his PokeBall without another word.

            Brendan raised an eyebrow as he looked at the strange, blue monkey in the water. "What is that thing?"

            "That's a Simipour," Black stated. "He's...yeah. But he's still a pretty strong Pokemon." He jumped onto the creature's back; Brendan got onto Relicanth. "The waterfall's almost directly in front of us."

            Brendan nodded. "Yeah; I can kind of hear it from here." He nudged Relicanth, and the Pokemon started to swim forward. Black did the same with Simipour.

            After a couple seconds, Black called, "Now!"

            "Waterfall!" the two boys ordered together.

            The two Pokemon responded instantly, picking up speed as they approached the roaring wall of water. The two Trainers held on tightly as they went up, so as not to fall off their mounts.

            After being in the predicament for about half a minute, the Pokemon righted themselves at the top of the waterfall, swimming a good distance away so as to not fall back down.

            Black quickly took the lead. "We can land over there," the Trainer explained, pointing to a shoreline.

            Brendan nodded in acknowledgement. "O.K., sure." He turned Relicanth in the direction that Black had been pointing.

            As they approached the shoreline, Black noticed something moving in the mist. The figure seemed human, but at the same time, not.

            Brendan looked in the direction Black was staring, squinting his eyes to try and get a better look. "What are you looking at, B-?" he started to ask.

            Black slapped a hand over the Hoenn Trainer's mouth. "Shh," he hissed.

            The figure looked up, then retreated deeper into the fog.

            Black glared at Brendan, who shrugged, a sheepish look on his face. Then they continued onto the shore.

            As the Trainers returned their Pokemon to their PokeBalls, a rustling noise was heard.

            Brendan looked around, relying more on his ears than his eyes to find the source of the noise. When the rustling happened again, Brendan turned and looked at a tree not very far away from them. He tapped Black on the shoulder and pointed to the tree. The other Trainer nodded, and the two walked carefully over to the tree, so as not to startle the whatever-it-was.

            The rustling stopped as the two approached it, causing them to pause and look around.

            Brendan let out a breath and closed his eyes, relying on his ears for finding the creature. Black stood with his back to the Hoenn Trainer, relying on his eyes instead.

            Brendan snapped his eyes open. "To your right," he murmured.

            Black responded by lashing out with his right arm to grab the whatever it was, only to hit something and vanish in a flash of light.

**Change in POV**

            "Shadow!"

            The black hedgehog looked up from where he had been sitting beside the shrine, the green Chaos Emerald beside him, and Snarl lying curled around his back. "What is it, Magenta?"

            "There are Trainers coming this way!" Magenta skidding came to a stop, panting. "I saw them come up the waterfall!"

            Shadow got up, grabbing the Emerald. "I'll be back. Practice while I'm gone. Chaos Control!"

            Shadow appeared on the shoreline of the area, and started to have a look around. If Magenta had only just seen the Trainers on the waterfall, then they would be nearing this area soon. Sure enough, the black hedgehog caught sight of two figures approaching the area on what looked like Pokemon - one being some type of fish with a rock mask, and the other was some sort of water monkey.

            Shadow paused as the one on the monkey looked in his direction. The one on the fish looked in his direction, as well, only for the Trainer on the monkey to slap a hand over the other's mouth. Loudly.

            The hedgehog, knowing he had been spotted, retreated deeper into the fog that surrounded the water, trying to keep out of sight. He watched silently as the two landed on the shoreline and returned the creatures to their PokeBalls. He quietly moved to a spot behind a tree, so as to not be seen, accidentally brushing against a bush as he did so.

            Shadow felt like making the tree into firewood for making that move. As an agent of G.U.N., he should've known better than to hit the bush.

            One of the Trainers looked in his direction, obviously searching for the source of the noise. Shadow carefully moved away from the tree, hitting another bush - this time one purpose. Now he had a better view of the two Trainers, who he now decided were most likely boys.

            The Trainer who had heard him tapped the other on the shoulder; the two then moved over to the tree in order to find the thing that was watching them. Shadow quickly moved into a clearing, and away from the bushes, causing the rustling to stop.

            The two boys then stood back-to-back, probably trying to find him. Shadow slipped around them, carefully avoiding a couple of broken branches.

            When he had gotten to a prime spot, Shadow grabbed a branch nearby and shook it.

            "To your right," one of the boys stated. The other then reached out to grab Shadow. The hedgehog, however, was ready.

            Grabbing onto the boy's arm, Shadow held up the Chaos Emerald and muttered, "Chaos Control." He was then transported back to the Abundant Shrine with the boy.

            Magenta jumped back as Shadow tossed the boy onto the ground, where he lay for a moment before getting up, allowing Shadow to examine him more thoroughly.

            The kid had a red baseball on his head, a blue jacket, and jeans of the same color. His brown hair was sticking out all over like he had jumped out of bed and left his hair alone. His eyes were also brown, and his shoes were black.

            The Trainer took in a breath as he looked around. Catching sight of the Mighteyna at his feet, he took a couple steps back, accidentally bumping into the shrine.

            The Trainer frowned, then looked back at the figures in front of him. "Another Mobian?"

            Shadow blinked, noticing that the human knew who he was. He remembered what had happened at Lake Valor.

            "You know Maria, don't you." Shadow's eyes narrowed.

            The Trainer blinked at that, then gave a slow nod. "You know her, too."

            "Shadow, you know this guy?" Magenta asked, peering around from behind a tree.

            "I know his _friend,"_ Shadow corrected. "He knows who we are."

            "You have a friend?" the Trainer asked.

            "Black!"

            "As do you." Shadow nodded to the trees as Brendan came stumbling through the trees and into the clearing, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the difference in light.

            Magenta looked increasingly nervous, remaining behind the tree as Brendan looked around.

            "Brendan." Black got the Hoenn Trainer's attention. "You said that you ran into a black hedgehog named Shadow, didn't you?"

            Brendan blinked at that, then nodded. "Yeah." His eyes moved around the clearing, and his eyes widened when he saw Shadow. "Oh, hey! The last time I saw you, you did that Chaos Control thing away from Lake Valor."

            Shadow nodded in confirmation. He looked over at the tree Magenta was hiding behind. "Relax. These two aren't the kind of people we ran away from."

            Magenta peered around the tree carefully. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Because I don't want to go back there."

            "Go back where?" Brendan asked.

            Shadow sighed. "I rescued Magenta from Scarlet's tormenter," he explained.

            Black and Brendan exchanged glances, then looked at Shadow, then Magenta.

            "You can't be serious," Black stated. "Charon did it _again_? Scarlet and the others are definitely going to kill him for that."

            Magenta started to come around the tree. "Who are you talking about?" she asked.

            "Just a few friends," Brendan replied in passing. He felt something slip past his legs and watched something dash over to Magenta, who picked it up.

            "Is that a Bagon?" he asked.

            Magenta nodded, her dreadlocks bouncing. "I met up with him not long after Shadow and I got here. His name's Drake."

            The Bagon glared defensively at the two Trainers, ready to defend his friend.

            "So, how do you guys know Shadow?" Magenta inquired.

            "We ran into him at Lake Valor," Black explained. "Him and Snarl." The Unova Trainer motioned to the Mightyena, who was sitting beside Shadow. "He left using that green Chaos Emerald of his not long after."

            "Oh. And you guys met someone named Scarlet, too?"

            "That was in Canalave, before we ran into Shadow," Brendan replied. "Why do you ask?"

            Magenta looked a little nervous. "Well, I did have a sister by that name. Did she have a Ranger Styler?"

            Black frowned, remembering the Scarlet he knew. "No...but she did have this Pachirisu with her. She was originally human, too."

            Now it was Magenta's turn to frown. "Originally? What do you mean?"

            Shadow let out a sigh. "She was transformed into a Mobian, too, Magenta."

            The magenta-colored Mobian let out a gasp. "She can't have been!"

            Brendan, putting two and two together, nodded. "Yeah; your sister's not exactly a human anymore."

            Black shot him a look. "Brendan, what are you saying? We don't know if Scarlet is related to this kid."

            "This kid has a name, you know," Magenta remarked. "And it's Magenta."

            "Fine. We don't know if Magenta is related to Scarlet."

            "Don't you remember when Scarlet called her home, back in Twinleaf?" Brendan countered. "She said her parents had said that her sister was missing. And Shadow had told her, back at Lake Valor, that Charon had found someone else and turned them into a Mobian. Scarlet made the same connection."

            "Where are they now?" Magenta asked. "Are they nearby?" She started looking around, expecting her sister to pop out any moment with Zap.

            "They're back in the Sinnoh region," Brendan replied. "Black and I are here because of a rumor about some strange activity around the Abundant Shrine."

            Magenta giggled nervously. "That was probably when Shadow was teaching me how to use Chaos Energy."

            "Chaos Energy?" Black repeated. "I haven't heard of that before."

            Shadow sighed, knowing he was in for another lecture. He had already given the same one to Magenta. "Chaos Energy is basically another 'type' of move element, if you want to call it that. It's the kind of energy that is in Chaos Emeralds, and it can be used to help or harm. For instance..." Shadow summoned a green energy spear. "Chaos Spear!" He threw it at a tree, where it embedded itself before dissipating.

            Brendan gulped. "I'm glad you didn't throw that at me."

            "There are a whole lotta other attacks, too," Magenta added. "Like Chaos Blast, or Chaos Control, which is basically a teleport move." She let Drake out of her arms. "So, what's going on back in Sinnoh? Do you know?"

            "Well, I know that Maria and Scarlet are planning to attack Team Galactic's main building in Veilstone," Brendan recalled. "Your sister's really hoping to find you, or at least get back at Charon for what he did."

            Magenta looked at Shadow. "Can we go? Please?"

            "You haven't completely mastered your abilities," Shadow stated.

            "Come on, Shadow; I really wanna see my sister again."

            "Let the kid go, Shadow," Brendan chided. "We'll keep an eye on her."

            "You mean I'll keep an eye on her," Shadow corrected. He grabbed Magenta, Black, Brendan, Snarl, and Drake, holding the green Chaos Emerald high. "Chaos Control!"


	28. Chapter 28

            Maria walked into the Veilstone Galactic storage area, looking for the grunt who had run from the area near the entrance. "He's gotta be around here somewhere," she muttered.

            "Do you know him from somewhere?" Sonic asked.

            Maria nodded. "Yeah; he was one of the grunts who was at the Windworks." She caught sight of the grunt, standing next to a door with a card key slot and looking nervous. "There he is!"        

            The grunt let out a yell of terror as the group approached. "Don't hurt me!" he whimpered.

            "All I want is information," Maria replied. "My friend may have other ideas, though."

            Scarlet grinned menacingly, cracking her knuckles.

            The grunt let out another whimper. "Don't let her hurt me. Please."

            "Just show me how this thing works, and we'll leave you alone." Maria glared pointedly at Scarlet, who glared back and folded her arms across her chest.

            "Hmph," Scarlet grunted. "Fine."

            Maria pulled out what looked like a credit card with the Galactic Symbol on it from her backpack. She handed it over to the grunt, who stuck it in the slot on the door, the Galactic Symbol facing up. As soon as he let it go, the doors opened.

            "And that's how it's done." The grunt stepped back from the door, nervous. "Now leave me alone!"

            "One more question," Scarlet said. She walked over to the grunt and grabbed his shirt, hoisting him up. "Why'd you leave it in there?"

            The grunt gulped. "It only works on this door! Now you can only open and close it manually. Now put me down!"

            Scarlet, after being glared at a second time by Maria, reluctantly put him down.

            "Now, let's go," Maria said, walking through the doorway. The rest of the group followed.

            As Sonic walked through, a brown blur knocked him down. "Sonic!"

            "Sal!" Sonic fell back in shock as the other figure -- a Mobian, most likely -- hugged him tightly.

            Maria moved over to the pile of blue and brown fur, blinking curiously. "Princess?"

            A brown head looked up, and a hand moved back a strand of auburn hair, revealing blue eyes. "You know of me?"

            Sonic grinned at his girlfriend. "Sal, this is Maria, a Pokemon Trainer. Maria, this is Sally Acorn, my girlfriend."

            "Hi," Maria said, glad to be introduced properly. "It's an honor to meet you."

            Sal smiled. "You don't have to act like that; I'd prefer it if you would just treat me like any other person." She adjusted her blue jacket a little, then pulled on the top of one of her blue boots.    

            Maria giggled. "All right."

            Scarlet came over. "Hey. The name's Scarlet."

            Sally frowned. "Scarlet? You don't mean the girl who managed to escape from this place, do you?"

            "The very same," Scarlet confirmed. "This is my Pokemon partner, Zap."

            "Pachi!" Zap greeted.

            "Hello," Sally said. She looked over at a nearby desk with a dusty computer on it. "You can come out, Nicole."

            A Pokemon wearing a white ballerina skirt and green hair with red eyes came out from behind the desk. _"Hello; I'm Nicole."_

            Sonic looked a little surprised. "Nicole? Is that really you?"

            The Pokemon nodded.

            Sally looked at Nicole. "As soon as we got here, Nicole went through some kind of transformation. Originally, she was this little Pokemon with a green helmet and red horns, and then she turned into this."

            "The Pokemon is called a Kirlia," Maria explained. "They're Psychic-Types, and are capable of doing all sorts of things with their abilities. Their final form, Gardevior, are very loyal to their Trainers."

            "And you know this how?" Sally asked.

            "I happen to be friends with one and a Trainer of another," Maria replied calmly. "I've made friends with a Gallade, too, but they only evolve from Kirlia if they hold a Dawn Stone and are boys. Clearly, Nicole isn't a boy."

            Nicole nervously played with her skirt.

            "So, what are you doing here?" Sonic asked.

            "Well, after that...accident...and my rescue, I noticed that these strange things are starting to happen to the Mobians in New Mobotropolis," Sally explained. "Like everyone was slowly transforming or something. Then this earthquake hit, and I blacked out. Next thing I knew, Nicole was like this, and I was lying on the shore of a lake. I stayed there for a few days, until those green-haired goons found me."

            "Team Galactic," Maria corrected. "You were probably at Lake Valor, before they blew it up. We got there not long after that, but they'd probably taken you by then."

            Sally shook her head. "No; they didn't blow this one up. And an Overlander called it Lake Acuity, not Valor."

            Maria nodded, understanding. "Gotcha. Kind of makes sense, seeing as we ran into Amy after that, not before."

            _"Who else is here?"_ Nicole asked.

            "We saw Shadow at Lake Valor," Tails recalled.

            "And a certain skunk at Lake Verity," Knuckles added.

            Sally's face darkened. "I already know he's here. He's the one who brought me in."

            "Then we should continue deeper in," Scarlet remarked. "I want to get back at Charon, and you want to find this skunk. Shall we?"

            "Do we have a plan of attack?" Sally asked.

            "Just head in and attack the grunts," Maria replied with a shrug. "That's what I've been doing the last few times. Come on; Sonic can fill you in along the way." She started for some stairs that led down into the lower levels. "This is probably a secret way to the main building." She grinned back at the others. "Let them loose; we're going to be in for a pretty big fight from here on in."

            Sonic nodded in agreement. He pulled the Quick Ball from his quills and released Paul. Knuckles and Tails released Vent and Gear, as well.

            Sally looked at the Pokemon in surprise. "Where did you find these?" she asked.

            "More like they found us," Sonic corrected with a sheepish grin. "Sal, these are Paul, Vent, and Gear, our Pokemon Partners. Guys, this is Sally, my girlfriend."

            The three Pokemon bowed - or acted like they were bowing - to the princess.

            "Um...where are we?" Paul asked.

            "We're in the Galactic HQ," Sonic replied with a grin. "Ready to send Team Galactic out of this world?"

            Paul grinned, then let out a battle cry. He hopped over to the stairs and looked back at the others.

            Sonic nodded in agreement. "Let's do it to it!" he declared, taking off down the stairs. The rest of the group ran after him.

            On the first floor, there were only two grunts who were eager to fight. Maria took them down rather quickly. The rest ran screaming in fear as soon as they saw Sonic and the others gearing up for a real battle.

            Scarlet ran up the stairs at the end of the passageway first, and, finding a grunt, grabbed him and threw him against a wall.

            When the grunt didn't get up to defend himself, she demanded, "Come on! Send out a Pokemon!"

            The grunt shook his head.

            "Why not?"

            Maria and the others came up the stairs just as the grunt replied, "I'm the gruntiest of the grunts...I don't even have a Pokemon to my name..." He let out a nervous laugh. "I don't even have the warp panel coordinates memorized!"

            Maria groaned. "I _knew_ that this wasn't going to be easy."

            "Warp panels?" Sonic repeated. "You mean, there are actual warp panels installed in the building?"

            Maria nodded grimly. "I'd thought that, since they've claimed they were above the other teams I've faced, they wouldn't be using them."

            "So, you've dealt with this sort of thing before, then," Sally guessed.

            "Yeah -- three times. Gets to be a real pain when you can't see where they lead. Stairs I can handle without a problem; warp panels, not so much."

            "Well, we'll have to deal with them," Scarlet remarked. She pointed up another set of stairs. "I bet they start up on the next floor."

            Maria let out a sigh. "Oh, well. Directional chaos, here we come."

            The group started to head up the stairs.

            On the next floor, there were two grunts, one of which Maria defeated while Knuckles and Vent practically clobbered the other. Behind them were two yellow warp panels.

            "Let me have a look," Maria said, stepping over to the panels. "Sometimes, if you aren't too careful, you could end up in a Trainer trap."

            "Trainer trap?" Amy repeated.

            "Fighting five Trainers in a row, usually. Don't worry; I can handle it."

            Maria walked over to the panels and stepped on the one to the right, first. After a moment, she reappeared and stepped on the panel to the left, reappearing a few seconds later.

            "No traps," she promised. "The panel that'll let us continue is this one." She pointed to the left panel. "Come on; it's just the Teleport move concentrated into a panel." Maria then stepped onto the left panel and vanished once again.

            The Mobians looked at each other.

            "Teleport?" Sally asked.

            "It could be something like Chaos Control," Sonic explained. "It's probably not that bad." He jumped onto the portal and teleported away; Paul and the rest followed.

**Scarlet's POV**

            As I stepped off the warp panel, I looked around, surprised to find that it was only an empty room.

            "That panel should take us to the next area," Maria told us, pointing to another yellow panel in the opposite corner of the room.

            "This seems too easy," Sonic muttered.

            "We're only scratching the surface," Maria stated. "It'll get tougher the deeper we go in. The boss of Team Galactic is probably in the deepest area of the building."

            I smirked. "Or at the end of this path of warp panels."

            Maria nodded. "That, too."

            The next warp panel led us to a set of stairs, which brought us to a room with another set of stairs and a warp panel...with another grunt.

            The grunt spotted us and grinned. "I'm this close to becoming a Commander," he said, showing a small increment of space with his hands. "I'll take you to the boss as our newest trophy! Go, Wurmple!"

            The poor guy didn't stand a chance. The battle was over in two minutes.

            Maria looked around and dove for the warp panel. I decided to follow her, while the rest of the Mobians stayed to interrogate the Galactic grunt. I found Maria down a set of stairs, fighting a man in a lab coat, Sparks vs. a Kadabra. The Kadabra went down just as I was coming down the stairs.

            Maria grinned back at me. "Come on; I've got a hunch that there's something good down this way." She ran down another set of stairs. I went after her, the scientist giving me a look of shock as I ran past him.

            When I got to the base of the stairs, I found that Maria and I were back in the passageway from the storage area to the main building. Maria was picking up a TM disk from the floor.

            "Hmm..." Maria muttered, turning the disk over. "Sludge Bomb. I wonder if Le Pew was planning on using this on his Skuntank." She stuck it in her backpack as I came over. "I wonder if he actually found someone that clicks with him." She looked over at a Galactic grunt, who was muttering to himself. I say this because he probably thought that there was no one else in the basement and he was actually talking as loud as a Loudred.

            The grunt laughed maniacally. "Ahahaahaha! Team Galactic will free all Pokemon from their Trainers and then rule the world! Ahahahahaha!"

            Maria flinched. "This guy could actually give Loudred some competition," she muttered. Then she stomped over to him, grabbed his shirt by the collar, and demanded, "What is your boss planning?!"

            The grunt glared at her. "How should I know? Now, leave me to my fantasy."

            Maria rolled her eyes and dropped him on the ground with a bang. "Sure, nut." She turned and found something on the floor. "What's this?" she asked, picking it up.

            It was a card, much like the Storage Key, only this one looked more new, and the name engraved on it was "Galactic Key."

            "This will probably give us more access to the rest of the building," Maria remarked. She placed the key into a jacket pocket. "Let's get back to the others."

            We ran through the area again, startling the scientist and scaring him half to death when I passed at high speed, and met back up with the group. When we got there, the grunt had fainted, and there were a couple others tied up tightly and glaring at us from their corner.

            "What have you guys been doing?" Maria asked.

            "Scoping for information," Sonic replied with a shrug. "Other than that, nothing."

            I looked over the grunts. "What have you guys found out?"

            "Well, for starters, that little sister of yours actually isn't here," Knuckles stated as he threw an unconscious scientist over to where the unconscious grunt was already lying. "According to that guy, she vanished three days ago, along with a strange blue gem. Charon won't talk about it to anyone any further than that."

            Scarlet let out a sigh. "It's good to see that she's gone." She looked the echidna over. "So it was my sister who was trapped here?"

            Knuckles nodded grimly. "The blue gem was a Chaos Emerald, too. Wherever your sister went, she took the blue Chaos Emerald with her."

            "That means there are four Chaos Emeralds that have been found so far," Tails said. "We've got two, Shadow's got one, and Magenta's probably got the other one, too."

            Sally nodded. "I hope Eggman doesn't get involved anytime soon."

            "If he hasn't been involved up until this point, I doubt he's going to be showing up anytime soon," Amy remarked. "Let's keep moving."

            We ran up the stairs, only to encounter a grunt with a Stunky, who Maria easily defeated with Luke. Then there was another grunt that ran up. There was something...familiar about him.

            He caught sight of me and smirked. "About time I ran into you again," he remarked. "Go, Bronzor! Use Extrasensory on the mutated Sandslash!"

            "Luke!" Maria barked. "Protect her with a Force Palm!"

            Bronzor was blasted back, and it's move hit Luke instead.

            The grunt let out a growl. "Iron Defense!" Bronzor was instantly covered in a sleek sheen, and stiffened up to raise its defenses.

            "Luke!" Maria barked.

            "Right!" Luke let out a roar and slammed another Force Palm into the Bronzor, sending the Pokemon flying back into a wall, knocked out.

            The grunt gritted his teeth and brought out another Pokemon -- a Stunky, but that one was rather quickly defeated, as well.

            I grabbed the grunt and held him high. "You know what? You and your whole team are going to be brought down so low, you're going to be unable to crawl out of the hole you've been dropped in." I dropped him, then knocked him out with a punch to the head. Looking back at Maria and the others, I stated, "Let's go."

            We continued on, stopping at a door, which Maria used the key card on, and stepped into a room filled with generators. Maria walked around them, allowing Sonic and the others to barrel through them and do some structural damage to the building.

            Maria let out a growl as she stopped at a wall. "Dead-end. Looks like we won't be able to continue on from here; we'll have to turn back."

            "Turn back?" Sally asked. "How far?"

            Maria looked at Sonic. "Anyone up for breaking down the front door?"

            Sonic gave her a thumbs-up. "I'm all for it."

            We retraced our steps back to the storage building, then walked out into the city.

            Maria looked up at the sky, trying to judge what the time was. "Hmmm...late afternoon. We probably won't have much time left to finish off the attack."

            Sally nodded in agreement. "Judging by the building's size, I would have to say the same thing."

            Sonic frowned. "Oh, come on! We could probably finish them off before nightfall."

            "Says the hedgehog who tried to take Eggman on alone and failed," Sally muttered,

            "Hey! If it wasn't for that other thing, I would've had him!"

            I looked at the two, confused. "What other thing?"

            "It's a long story," Sally replied.

            "We've got the time," Maria replied. "How about we head to the Pokemon Center and rent a couple rooms? We can discuss things there." She started to walk over to the Pokemon Center. The rest of us followed.

            As we walked inside, a figure in a brown coat and fedora walked past us. He paused and looked at Maria, who glared at him. Then the figure walked off.

            "Who was that?" Nicole asked.

            "Just someone I thought I had known," Maria replied. "I don't really want to talk about it."

            Sally looked like she had been struck with an idea. "How about we trade information?" she asked. "A little bit about yourself for...the other thing."

            Maria looked over at the brown-furred Mobian, considering her words. After a moment, she sighed. "Very well. But my story might take longer than yours."

            "We'll have to see."

            It took some convincing from Maria, but she managed to get Nurse Joy to let us rent two rooms -- one for the guys, and one for the girls. Then we gathered together in the girls' room so that we could exchange information without anyone missing out, Pokemon or Mobian.


	29. Chapter 29

**Scarlet's POV**

            "You first." Sally nodded to Maria.

            Maria cocked her head for a moment, then nodded. Taking in a breath, she asked us, "What, exactly, do you guys think of me as a fellow Trainer?"

            I frowned slightly. What made her ask that question?

            "Well, it's obvious that you have deep bonds with your Pokemon," I said carefully. "Despite the fact that you're really eccentric and seem to have more secrets than an Unown."

            That seemed to be the answer the human was looking for, because she grinned at me. Then she asked an even weirder question.

            "Would you believe me if I had actually been a Pokemon, once?"

            We all stared at her, including our Pokemon.

            Maria nodded in Vent's direction. "Did your parents tell you about the Exploration Teams in certain parts of the world?"

            Vent blinked at that, then nodded.

            Maria grinned. "Then...how about the PokeExplore Guild?"

            Vent nodded again. "How did you know about that?"

            Sonic translated the question while Maria's grin only became wider.

            "I was the Vulpix that helped start the whole thing," Maria said.

            The Pokemon in the room who _weren't_ on Maria's team let out cries of surprise, which Maria laughed at.

            "Pokemon Exploration?" Sally asked. "I'm afraid I don't really understand."

            "They're groups of Pokemon that explore certain places, sometimes coming back with treasures they can sell to other Pokemon or use on other explorations," Maria explained. She rummaged through her backpack and came out with a badge that looked like a PokeBall with wings, but the badge itself was black, the wings were gold, and the button on the PokeBall was a bright red gem. "This is my Exploration Badge," the Trainer continued, showing it to us. "It signifies that I'm a founder of a team. It also shows that we're at Guildmaster Rank, which is the highest Rank you can go when it comes to Exploration Teams."

            "So, how is it that you became human?" Sonic asked.

            "I was human originally," Maria admitted, "and I had asked Palkia, a Legendary Pokemon who can control space, to change me back so that I could be what I was before. That's why I'm a Trainer now."

            "You used to be human, you changed into a Pokemon, and you changed back into a human," Tails stated. "That doesn't make any sense!"

            Maria laughed. "The story's a bit convoluted, I'll admit, so I'll try to explain it as best as I can. Originally, I was a human who lived in the _future_. Don't say anything just yet, now. Anyway, the future was a _really_ desolate place, filled with darkness, because the planet was paralyzed."

            "Paralyzed?" Knuckles repeated.

            Maria nodded. "The seasons never changed, the sun never rose, the wind never blew...it was a world of unrelenting darkness. I lived there with a Grovyle - the pre-evolved form of Sceptile - who wanted to change the past so that this future never happened. So, he and I went around, trying to research everything we could to try and figure out what went wrong. The problem was that a place called Temporal Tower, the home of the Legendary Pokemon Dialga, who could control time, had collapsed. This had caused Dialga to kind of go...berserk. To be more specific, he was Primal Dialga, and he only wanted to preserve the timeline that created the planet's paralysis, because the darkness had corrupted him."

            "What is going to stop this bad future?" Sally asked.

            "It has been stopped," Maria corrected, making us even more confused. "I'll explain as I go along. Anyway, the collapse of Temporal Tower could be stopped if five gears, called Time Gears, were found. Grovyle and I had to find these five specific areas in order to find the Time Gears in the past, so that we could place them in the tower. For that, we used my ability: the Dimensional Scream."

            "Dimensional Scream?" Knuckles repeated.

            Maria nodded. "It's an ability that, once I touch an object, I can see the past - or future - concerning a certain event." She frowned slightly. "Although, to be honest, ever since I've become a human, they've been coming _without_ me needing to touch anything for some reason.... Anyway, once Grovyle and I had gathered all the information we needed, we asked our friend, Celebi, to send us into the past in order to save the future. Things were going well for us when something attacked the Time Tunnel while we were going into the past. This caused Grovyle and me to separate, as well as my transformation into a Pokemon and...my memory to be lost."

            "You lost your memory?" I asked.

            Maria nodded glumly. "All I remembered was my name and that I was supposed to be a human. I've started to regain what I've lost, but I'm still missing some pretty big chunks of it, like my orignal family and what I did before I met Grovyle." She grinned sheepishly. "Anyway, after I was blasted out of the Time Tunnel, a Pikachu found me on a beach in Vulpix form."

            "What does a Pikachu look like?" Sally asked. "And the Vulpix?"

            Maria fished into her backpack again and pulled out a PokeDex -- and not just _any_ PokeDex, but one that looked like it'd seen a lot. "This is my NationalDex -- it's got data on every Pokemon, and what region they come from." She grinned. "Professor Oak had a _fit_ when he found out that I'd seen all the Pokemon that could live in Kanto, Jhoto, Hoenn, _and_ Sinnoh already."

            Maria opened the device and scrolled through the entries, then showed us the entry for the Electric Mouse, then the Fox Pokemon.

            "Pika and I were the founders for Team PokeExplore," Maria explained. "Anyway, after we met, the two of us joined up with an already acting Guild, where we trained to become a true Pokemon Exploration Team. The two of us then went through the usual sort of thing that Exploration Teams go through - taking Jobs to rescue Pokemon from certain dangers, and discovering new places and treasure. Eventually, we ran into Grovyle again, only I thought he was an outlaw at the time, because I had lost my memory and that he had started to cause time to temporarily stop in the places that had the Time Gears. No one really knew what he was doing except for himself...and the agent Primal Dialga had sent from the future."

            "An agent?" I repeated.

            Maria nodded glumly. "Yeah. Dusknoir was one dark Pokemon. He served Dialga, and wasn't hesitant when it came to getting rid of Pokemon. I mean it - he almost got rid of me, Pika, and Grovyle in one move. You see, after he managed to capture Grovyle, he took the Pokemon back to the future, along with me and Pika, most likely because of my existing and being partnered up with Pika. Then, we got to see the future as we ran for our lives with Grovyle in order to get back home. Once again, Celebi played a rather integral part, and we were sent back into the past before Dusknoir could end it. After that, we gathered all the Time Gears and went to Temporal Tower, where we stopped it from collapsing."

            "Something should have happened to you, then," Sally remarked. "If you came from the future, and you changed it in the past -"

            "I'm not supposed to exist anymore; I know. Me being here is actually Dialga's doing. After I had disappeared from Temporal Tower, Pika apparently tried to go on his own without me. However, he couldn't really take it, so Dialga summoned me from out of the time stream and sent me to the beach, where I met up with Pika again. After that, we graduated from the Guild and went off on our own. Then other things started to happen."

            "Other things?" Amy repeated with a frown.

            Maria nodded. "Yeah; distortions in space began to appear all over. And I started to have these strange dreams, too, where a Pokemon called Cresselia kept telling me I was causing the distortions and that I had to die in order to get rid of them. I didn't really believe a word of it...or, at least, something told me not to...anyway, Pika and I were eventually taken in the middle of the night by Palkia, the Legendary Pokemon of space, who also thought I was to blame for the problems. Thing is, he thought it wasn't just me, but my friend, as well! We had to fight him, then enter his dream in order to figure out what was really causing the problem."

            "Who was that?" Tails asked.

            "Darkrai," Maria replied darkly.

            I shuddered, remembering having to fight that thing as a Ranger. It's heart had been sealed...were it not for the three stone "tears" I had managed to find. "You had to fight that thing, too?"

            Maria nodded. "Yeah. But, he was doing this of his own free will, not because a man-machine ordered him to."

            "You knew about that?" I stared at her. "How?"

            Maria tapped the side of her head, smiling. "Dimensional Scream. It was like I was hovering over everything." She looked back at the others, losing her smile. "Anyway, Darkrai wanted to create a world of darkness, and his first attempt was with Dialga. Apparently, he was the one that had attacked Grovyle and me when we were going back to the past to stop the planet's paralysis. Pika and our new friend -- the actual Cresselia -- and I put a stop to his plans in our home, though.

            "When Darkrai decided to escape to another time or place, though, Palkia stopped him mid-path. I don't know where he might have ended up after that, but he actually joined up with us eventually, his mind wiped clean by what had happened. After that, I left Pika in charge of the Guild and came here as a human, but my trip was almost stopped because of some sort of...I dunno, spacial earthquake or something. When I came to, I was in Kanto, lying on the doorstep of my soon-to-be adoptive parents in a ten-year-old's body. That's when my journey as a Trainer started."

            I blinked at that. "You mean...you weren't supposed to be ten?"

            Maria shook her head. "I remember being older -- sixteen, maybe. I wonder if Dialga had something to do with it, but I haven't been able to ask him since I ended up on this side of the world." She leaned back a little, looking up at the ceiling, then smirked and chuckled. "I can still remember the look on Professor Oak's and the others' faces when I went through the Kanto Gyms with ease _and_ took on Team Rocket at the same time. If it hadn't been for Team Rocket, I'd have gone through the Gyms much faster."

            "Team Rocket?" the Mobians repeated.

            "An evil organization who wanted to take over the world," I explained flatly.

            Maria nodded, a dark look coming over her face. "Yeah. Take a random guess as to who Rocket's leader was."

            "The guy in the brown coat and fedora," Sonic guessed.

            "Or, someone who dressed in that the last time I had run into him," Maria confirmed. "The guy's name is Giovanni. He used to be one of the Gym Leaders - my rival Blue took over for him after he left. In Jhoto, much more recently, I ran into him again, and gave him what he deserved. Thing is... That guy's my uncle - adoptive, not blood-related."

            "Ah," Sonic said. "Gotcha. And I suppose you don't like him because he's kind of...the bad blood in the family?"

            "So to speak," Maria confirmed. She looked at Sally. "So, what's your story?"

            Sally paused at that, then paused and sighed. "All right; we'll explain. Do you know anything about a man named Eggman?"

            "Other than the fact that he was the one who caused constant problems for you?" I shrugged. "Nada."

            "He's got an IQ of 300," Tails explained. "He has this habit of building robots, constantly trying to get rid of Sonic, and...turning Mobians and Overlanders into robots or just giving them cybernetics."

            I flinched a little at that. "He forced people to have robot parts attached to their body?"

            "Or...turned them into robots?" Maria asked. "That's a little...scary."

            "More like terrifying," Sonic countered. "To have your entire family turned into robots and having two of them hunt you down because of Robuttnik's orders...it's not really something I want to think about."

            "Robuttnik?" I repeated. "A moment ago, we were talking about Eggman."

            "They're one and the same," Sally explained. "Robotnik, or Robuttnik, was his original name. We started calling him Eggman after he changed his appearance."

            Oh. Now I remember what Sonic and the others had told us about their history back in Canalave. "So, what did this Eggman guy do to cause this 'other thing,' as you called it, to happen?"

            "It happened not long after Naugus regained his sanity and came to New Mobotropolis for my family's crown," Sally began. "Eggman had created another weapon - the Death Egg Mark II."

            "Death Egg?" Maria muttered. "Why does that sound...familiar...?"

            "The Freedom Fighters, including Naugus, attacked the Death Egg in order to keep it from destroying our home," Sally continued, ignoring Maria's comment. She probably hadn't heard her. "However, we really couldn't do very much. The armor on that giant, floating egg was practically impervious, so Sonic and I went inside to destroy it there. Things started going for the worst when this metal version of Sonic, which was called Silver Sonic, attacked us out of nowhere. Sonic stayed behind to fight it while I went on ahead."

            Maria's eyes widened as air hissed between her teeth, causing me to frown.

            "There was this white flash, and then there was some sort of gun almost in front of my nose. Sonic got to me before it could go off, though, and it got Silver Sonic instead."

            Maria let out a sigh of relief. What was she relieved about, anyway?

            Sally continued to ignore Maria's actions as she kept on speaking. "When we got to the center of the Death Egg, Eggman was there waiting for us. He...he said that he had a World Robotosizer, which would turn the whole world into robots, and those who were robots already would explode."

            From there, Sonic suddenly took over. "Thinking of my dad, I tried to attack Eggman, only for another metal me - Metal Sonic - to come barreling out of nowhere, forcing me to fight it. Then Silver Sonic came after me, too. This gave Sal enough time to get the job done and stop the Robotosizer from actually going off. She stopped it, but...at a price."

            "You got turned into a robot," Maria guessed.

            Sally nodded. "Yes; I did. I was aware of what was going to happen, and I was willing to make a sacrifice."

            "After Sal got turned into a robot, Naugus got crowned king, Ant got hurt by an explosion to the face, and Bunnie ran off on her own after getting her robotic limbs removed by accident," Sonic continued. "Then Silver came from the future, saying he was staying until he figured out who the traitor was."

            "Silver?" Maria repeated. "Do you mean that hedgehog you talked about?"

            Sonic nodded. "He had these psychic abilities that he used pretty often."

            "Really? That's pretty cool -- I don't think that you guys could have so many abilities like Pokemon." Maria gained a thoughtful expression. "I do have a rival in Jhoto who goes by that name, though."

            Sonic nodded. "Gotcha. Anyway, after the original team of Freedom Fighters got disbanded, Amy, Tails, and I formed Team Fighters and set off to help keep Eggman on the ropes, seeing as Knux was a bit too busy guarding the Master Emerald to help out. Rotor, a rabbit named Cream, and my buddy Big the Cat stayed in New Mobotropolis as Team Freedom to help out on the home front. Naugus then started to have a little trouble with a creature Eggman had created called the 'Tails Doll'."

            Tails let out a shudder. "I still have no idea why he named that thing after me."

            "Or why he made Metal versions of us," Knuckles added. "The only one Eggman really had something against was Sonic."

            "Anyway," Sonic said, "we had a bit of a rough time with so much of the team missing or war casualties, but we managed pulled through on occasions. For instance, we kicked Eggman out of Soumerica and the Wolf/Felidae territories. But then he decided to go back to our place, so Team Fighters had to hightail it over there in order to help Team Freedom against the impending doom. Shadow and his team, Team Dark, joined up with us, as well. With their help, we stopped the frontal assault from Eggman, who then said he'd give us two days to think about surrendering. If we did, he'd only give us the cybernetics. If we didn't...well, he let us think up our own punishments." He chuckled nervously.

            "I suppose that during one of those days you went out for a run to mull things over," Maria remarked.

            Sonic nodded. "That's the day the old King ended up dying. Also, during that time, something really weird happened."

            "How weird?" I asked.

            "Well, I was just running through the Great Forest, when Mammoth Mogul suddenly appears out of nowhere."

            "What kind of Mobian is a Mammoth?" I asked.

            Sonic swiped Maria's National PokeDex from her and returned it a moment later. "Kind of like this thing, only Mogul stands on two legs, he doesn't have the face paint, and he likes wearing suits."

            "Humanoid Mamoswine," Maria muttered. "Gotcha."

            "So, what was he doing?" I asked.

            "He came to me saying that he could turn Sal back to normal...if I started to work for him." Sonic snorted. "Naturally, I refused: that guy had caused waaay too much trouble for me in the past with that kind of thing, and I wasn't planning on starting it up again. Then he sighs and says that he expected me to say that and decided to do something else for me instead - he gave me his Chaos Emerald. The gray one. He then added that he expected me to give it back once I was done with it. Like that was going to happen."

            "What does that mean?" I frowned.

            "Legend has it that the Chaos Emeralds scatter after they've been gathered together and used," Maria said thoughtfully.

            "Exactly." Sonic nodded. "And not long after _that,_ this portal appears out of nowhere, and this giant black paw comes out of nowhere and drops two Emeralds onto the forest floor - cyan and yellow. I have no idea why Feist decided to do that. After that, I got back to Freedom HQ, where everyone gawked at the Emeralds and tried to figure out how I'd managed to get them in the first place.

            "The next morning, I took one of the Emeralds and went straight to the hospital, where Ant was lying in a coma. Acting kind of on instinct, I got one of the Emerald to not only heal his face up, but wake him up, too. Then Shadow shows up and gives me his two Emeralds, saying he's going to want them back for the final battle. And I'm going, 'O.K., this is getting reeeeally mondo-weird' the whole time."

            "I'd kind of feel the same way," Maria remarked. "Do you think something told them to do that?"

            Knuckles shuddered at the idea.

            "That evening, Silver and his team show up, along with a yellow/black robot lookalike of me that kind of looked familiar. Silver introduced the Secret Freedom Fighters, and suggested that we join forces. Of course, we join up and get ready to attack Eggman's base the next day, plan or no plan."

            Sally slapped herself in the forehead. "Oh, boy. You got me out of there and you didn't plan anything?"

            Sonic shrugged. "Hey, it worked." He grinned at the rest of us. "The next morning, everyone, excluding Naugus, attacked the Death Egg with all the fire power we had - minus the Chaos Emeralds. After Silver, Tails, that robot me - who called himself Shard - Shadow, and I got into the Death Egg, Shard revealed that he had taken the purple Chaos Emerald from Naugus staff when the Ixis wizard wasn't looking. That gave us six of them, and I was really starting to see where this was going. You see, I can use seven Emeralds to access my Super persona."

            Maria's eyes widened. "Then where was the seventh Emerald?"

            Sonic smirked. "In Metal Sonic. Shard and I took him out in a Sonic Second and found the blue Emerald in his core. Turns out that Shard was the original Metal Sonic who deactivated in a volcano."

            "The original, huh?" Maria muttered.

            "We went deeper into the Death Egg until we found Eggman with Mecha Sally, Sal's robot form. I opted to use the Chaos Emeralds at the last possible moment, seeing as Eggy probably didn't realize we had all seven. At first, he sends Tails' and Knuckles' lookalikes to sic us, but we beat them back. Then he sends Sal in. I go a little easy on her, then when Eggman thought I was on the ropes, I brought out the seven Chaos Emeralds and went Super. Shadow and Silver did, too, and Tails went Turbo. We instantly started to beat up everything in sight...only to cause some sort of black hole to appear, sucking us and a spying Rouge inside, along with the Chaos Emeralds. At the same time, other portals opened up in other places - Angel Island, New Metropolis, etc. Turns out Naugus was practicing with a little portal magic."

            "What happened then?" Maria asked. She looked like she wanted to jump into the action herself. "Did you enter another Zone?"

            Sonic nodded. "The Twilight Zone, where the Dark Egg Legion had once been trapped. Tough place to live in, I must admit."

            "There were all of these planetoids just floating around in space," Tails explained. "The Emeralds ended up landing in two specific places - Sector Sylla and Sector Charybdis. Both places we're being ruled by a group of echidnas called the Nocturnus."

            Vent let out a shudder. "Lu-rio."

            "He doesn't like their name much," Sonic translated. "And their name kinda fit. They were more technological than the Dark Legion, and that made them just as dangerous. And, if we were stuck there and could probably find a way back, then they could probably do it, too. All we needed were the Chaos Emeralds."

            "Two of which were already on the Nocturne, the echidna tribe's home," Knuckles added. "We had to move quickly in order to get everything and get out."

            "Let me guess - you landed on a planetoids covered in golem-like people." Maria frowned when she saw the looks she was getting from the others. "What? I read the carvings in the ruins -- they covered their adventures pretty well."

            "Still, to have that much detail about the aliens we ran into...." Knuckles shook his head. "The golems were called the Kron, and they didn't like the Nocturnus very much, because they were using the mines on the planetoid in order to make more weapons to terrorize the other peoples with. We agreed to help him out, and managed to get a Chaos Emerald in the process. And that's when we met Beryl."

            "You mean, Rouge's boyfriend," I stated.

            Tails nodded. "He'd been after the Emerald for more personal means, and Rouge was actually the one who convinced him to join us. The Kron were more than happy to see him leave, anyway."

            "Where'd you guys go next?" Maria asked.

            "The N'rrgals," Amy replied with a shudder. "They're these little, slimy things that can suck all the energy out of you. Their queen wanted our help with something - their long-time enemies, the Zorah, had a new secret weapon, and they wanted us to find out what it was, in exchange for not leaving us in the dungeons as decaying husks."

            "We had to go," Sonic stated. "We didn't have all that much of a choice. And when we got there...it turned out that the Zorah had a Chaos Emerald! Believe it or not, but I actually managed to fight their General all by myself and defeat him rather quickly. Then he gave me the Emerald, adding that he had seen someone like Knuckles wandering around the streets of the city. Knuckles dashed right out of there...and ran into none other than his dad."

            Vent and Maria looked at the hedgehog in surprise. "We thought he was dead!" Maria exclaimed over the Pokemon's exclamation.

            Knuckles shook his head. "He isn't, but he and my relatives - the Brotherhood of Guardians - can't leave the Twilight Cage for reasons unknown to even them. I was forced to leave him behind when we came back after taking on Ix."

            "We took him on with the power of the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic added. "After going to the Voxai, these mind-controlling jellyfish-like things, and getting their Emeralds. Then we left for Mobius, Rouge somehow managing to sneak Beryl along for the ride."

            "When we got back, a lot had changed," Knuckles recalled. "Eggman's city had become larger, and the amount of actual Mobians and Overlanders had decreased immensely. Turns out we had been gone for about a year. During that time, Ixis had been overturned and Elias had returned to his rightful place as king, though Naugus was still sneaking around with that skunk of an apprentice. And Eggy had a whole line of Metal Sonics, Knuckles, Tails, and everybody else, except for Sally. We decided to turn the tables on him and set up a new team of Freedom Fighters to go up against Eggman. We started small at first, but we started to take out larger buildings rather quickly as more allies joined us."

            "The night right before we were planning on doing a final attack, these aliens called the Bem appeared out of nowhere and hit everybody except for Sonic's dad with a derobotosizer/immunity ray, so that we wouldn't have to worry about that sort of thing for a little while longer," Tails continued. "They managed to get Sally back to normal, too, and Eggman's city was downsized. A lot."

            Sonic burst into laughter. "You should have seen the look on his face when all of his factories were demolished! Oh, that was priceless!"

            Sally smiled nervously. "And, after that, Naugus managed to get his hands on three of the Emeralds, but then he went into hiding. Mogul had found something that could easily substitute a Chaos Emerald, and Bunnie had returned with her uncle, both 'honorably discharged' from the DEL, again thanks to the Bem. Antoine was so happy to see her, they spent an entire day together by themselves."

            "And the spacial earthquake thingy probably hit not long after that," Sonic added. "And, that's it!"

            "And just in time, too," Maria remarked, looking out a nearby window. "The sun's beyond setting, and we're going to be in for an early morning tomorrow. We should be getting to bed."

            "Right," Sonic agreed. He, Knuckles, Tails, and their Pokemon got up off the floor. "See you girls in the morning."

            "Good night, hedgehog," Sally replied. She gave Sonic a quick peck on the cheek, causing him to blush, before he made a rather hasty retreat to his room.

            I rolled my eyes. Oi; looks like they're serious about the whole dating thing.

            Sally climbed up onto the top bunk of one of the bunkbeds, Nicole clambering up the ladder to protect her while she slept. Maria seemed to know what Nicole was planning on doing the entire night.

            "You'll need to actually sleep now, Nicole," she warned. "You're not a computer anymore, remember?"

            The Kirlia considered the Trainer's words before nodding and settling at the foot of the bed to got to sleep. Below her, Amy crawled in with Puff, who once again sat on her chest before closing his eyes. I made a quick scramble for the top bunk of the other bed, Zap curling up around my feet before I fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really, really liked the Sonic Chronicles game. Still have it, but I haven't touched it in years.


	30. Chapter 30

**Maria's POV**

            As soon as I closed my eyes, I was back in the whitewashed room with Sonic, Knuckles, and M. Sonic was grinning widely.

            "Hey." M gave a nod. "You up for more memory recovery?"

            I nodded. "Yeah. What are we looking at tonight?"

            "Your past experiences...in the future."

            I blinked, not quite comprehending. Then I remembered what I had done before becoming human again. "Same game as the other night?"

            M shook her head. "This one's going to be a little...different."

            "Different how?" Knuckles asked.

            I started to feel tingly all over. "Oh, boy."

            There was a sudden, bright flash that instantly blinded me. Sonic let out a yelp of surprise, as did Knuckles. When the light had faded, I was standing on four legs, had red fur, and six tails; I was a Vulpix.

            "What happened?" Sonic asked. "I feel kind of...funny."

            "Speak for yourself," Knuckles muttered.

            I looked over in their direction and saw what they had meant.

            Sonic was now in a Pokemon's form, but he had managed to keep his cobalt color and emerald eyes. Now, he was probably about half as tall as he had been, with his spines flattened a little and spread all over his back. His hands and feet no longer had the shoes and gloves he normally wore, and were now claw-like. I mentally identified his new form as a Sandslash, then looked at Knuckles.

            The echidna had turned into a Lucario, but he had managed to keep his red fur (except for the white chest fur and black "mask" that now surrounded his purple eyes), and his paws were black on his feet and white on his "hands."

            I smiled nervously. "We've been transformed into Pokemon, guys. I'm a Vulpix, Sonic's a Sandslash, and Knux is a Lucario."

            The two Mobians looked at each other, then at their new forms.

            "I hope this doesn't actually affect us," Sonic remarked.

            M snickered. "It shouldn't; your Pokemon forms are pretty much only dream world material."

            "But, why are we like this?" Knuckles asked. "I mean, Maria seems to have all of her memories of being like this in order."

            "Not completely," I admitted. "Some of my past I've only _heard_ about; I haven't truly regained those memories just yet."

            "The fact that you know about them doesn't mean you're going to get them back," M replied. She motioned to a wall as the unseen lights dimmed again, and the wall instantly showed a desolate place of darkness, with dead trees, floating rocks, and a barren countryside. Along with this place came the sound of white noise - a sound that exists when there isn't any.

            "What is this place?" Knuckles asked, eyes wide.

            I looked over at him sadly. "This is the bad future - the planet's paralysis. I saw it when Dusknoir dragged me and Pika into the future to get rid of us."

**Memory Break**

_A teenage girl, a year older than I was now and looking identical to me, looked around with a tense stance and a furrowed brow._

            "That kid looks a lot like you," Sonic remarked.

            "That's because she is me," I replied, blinking. "That's the age that I was supposed to be in Kanto."

            M nodded. "Now, shush."

            _Maria tensed suddenly, looking over sharply when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She remained tense as a figure came over -- a Pokemon who came up to Maria's shoulder, with a large leaf on his head. There was a cautious frown on the Pokemon's face, but he didn't look like he was about to attack._

            I let out a gasp. "That's Grovyle!"

            "You mean, the Pokemon from the future?" Sonic guessed.

            "Yeah. This must be when we first met."

            _"You must be that human that has been causing the ruckus with the Sabeleye," the Grovyle said. "You don't look like someone who could destroy a whole squadron of those little jewel monsters."_

_Maria huffed in response. "Those 'mons were nothing compared to what I've run into before. I can handle myself, thanks. I'm sure you can handle them, too, Grovyle."_

_"So you know who I am. But I don't know your name."_

_Maria gave a slight smile. "I'm Maria."_

_"Nice to meet you, kid. Why is it that you got the Sabeleyes' attention?"_

_"I've got an agenda against their master. I'd go after him myself, but I'm not quite strong enough yet. I've only recently learned how to use my abilities, but that doesn't mean that I've managed to master them." Maria frowned._

_"If you want to go after Dialga, you won't be able to do it here."_

_Maria looked at Grovyle with a curious expression, frowning. "What do you mean by that?"_

_"Primal Dialga is too strong for you to be able to do anything against him." Grovyle poked Maria in the chest. "Not even you'd be able to do anything anyway, since you're a human."_

_"Just because I'm a human doesn't mean I'm defenseless. I_ did _take out those Sabeleye."_

_"Rumors are still rumors." Grovyle paused. "Speaking of which, I heard that you have the ability to see things that could have taken place in the past. Is that a rumor?"_

_Maria blinked at that, then gave a slight smile. "So, you've heard about that. My 'dimensional scream'." The smile faded. "I could probably find a way to show you the truth, but I'd have to find a place that it would work at, first. My ability is pretty limited because of how the world is, but I do have a pretty good sense of where it could work."_

_"Where, then?"_

_Maria looked around, frowning slightly. "Hmmm...this direction." She started walking towards a plateau that was standing on a thin pillar, somehow managing to create a path through a low-lying fog that lay, frozen, over the ground. "I'm not sure, but...something about this is...hmmm." She leaned against a rocky mound, frowning and folding her arms across her chest. A moment later, she stiffened._

_Grovyle ran over when he saw Maria flinch. "Hey, kid!"_

_"Nnnrgh." Maria shook her head. "I'm fine." She looked at the plateau again. "There's something up there, all right." She turned and motioned to the rocky mound she'd been leaning against. "This used to be a statue of Groudon. Apparently, it was the key to lifting the fog around here...and there's something else, too."_

_"Something else?"_

_"Yeah. I don't know what else to call it, but my Time Gear sense is going off." Maria pointed up at the plateau. "This place was guarding it."_

_"Really?" Grovyle started moving toward the plateau. "I'll check it out."_

_"I'm coming with you."_

_Grovyle turned to look back at Maria, frowning. "You're human. You won't be able to handle the Pokemon there."_

_Maria snorted, then grinned. "I have ways of defending myself...."_

**Memory Break**

            The screen flickered for a moment, then changed to show me, Grovyle, and a little flying, pink Pokemon that looked like some sort of fairy at the top of a different plateau, in front of a blue portal of some sort.

**Memory Break**

_"So, this Passage of Time can take us into the past?" Maria asked, looking at the portal curiously._

_The pink Pokemon nodded. "Yup! I use this when I have to take long trips into the past."_

_Grovyle grinned hugely. "Thanks for the help, Celebi. We wouldn't be able to do this without you." He became serious again as he added, "Just make sure that Dusknoir doesn't find you."_

_Celebi laughed. "I can't be caught, my dear Grovyle. Surely you know that. You two had better hurry, now. I don't want to be living in this dismal place forever, you know."_

_"Right," Maria agreed. She looked at Grovyle. "Let's go, partner."_

_Grovyle nodded. Then the two dove into the Passage of Time._

_The inside of the Passage of Time looked like a combination between some sort of aquarium sightseeing tunnel and a electric cable. Scenes from all over time passed by as the two from the future went to their destination in the past: the Eastern Forest._

_Suddenly, a black Pokemon came up out of nowhere and tried to attack them. Maria caught sight of him and moved in front of Grovyle to defend him._

_"Darkrai!" Maria roared as the Pokemon slashed at her._

_"Gah!" Grovyle exclaimed as the Dark Pokemon vanished. "Maria, hang on!" He grabbed hold of the human, trying to keep her on a steady course. Maria, however, was drifting in and out of consciousness._

_"I...can't hold on, Grovyle..."_

_"You have to!" the Pokemon snapped in reply._

_"We're in...the right part...of the time stream! We'll meet up...later! Now, let...go!"_

_Grovyle looked a little saddened, but strengthened his resolve and nodded. "All right, then. I'll see you later." He let go, and Maria fell into the side of the Passage of Time and out to her own destination..._

_Maria awoke on a beach in Vulpix form, trying to stay awake._

_"...I can't...stay...awake..."_

**Memory Break**

            As the lights came back on, I let out a sigh. "So, that's how it happened...."

            Sonic let out a whistle. "Wow. I wonder if your buddy's all right."

            "Grovyle should be fine," I replied. "Celebi, too. If Dialga brought me back into the time stream, then he could have left them in the future. We'll be the only ones to remember the bad future, though, because of what Pika and I did at Temporal Tower."

            Knuckles frowned slightly. "There are a few questions left unanswered, though. Like, what did you mean when you said you weren't from around there? Or, maybe, what sort of powers you had used in that Dungeon place?"

            I frowned, seeing where Knuckles was going with this. "Yeah, that is a pretty big mystery." I looked at M. "So, why didn't you show us any of that?"

            M shrugged. "To be honest, I have no idea. Plus, the rest of the memories are completely locked, so I can't play the game with you to let you regain access to them."

            "What?" I asked. "What do you mean by that?"

            "Only a rather nerve-racking event can make them surface, now," M replied, looking more and more disgruntled at the idea. "I'm afraid I won't be able to help you any further." She must be really mad because not everything's come back yet.

            Sonic let out a sigh. "Well, this is just great. Can we turn back now? This form is a little uncomfortable."

            Knuckles thought for a moment. "To be honest, I kind of like this form. I'd like to stay in it for a little longer."

            M smirked. "I'm afraid I can't help you there, either. These forms were given to you tonight for a reason. Perhaps you can think up why, Maria?"

            I thought for a moment. Then, I realized where M might be going with this. So, I decided to see if there was a certain Pokemon wandering around.

            "Crescent?" I called. "Are you here?"

            Sonic and Knuckles looked at me with curious looks. Whatever questions they had were answered when a Pokemon with two crescent-shaped wings and a crescent-shaped head appeared right in front of us

            _"Hello, Maria,"_ the Pokemon greeted.

            "Hey, Crescent," I replied. Motioning to Sonic and Knuckles, I explained, "These are two of my friends, Sonic and Knuckles." Looking at the two Mobians, I told them, "Guys, this is Crescent, a Legendary Pokemon called a Cresselia."

            Sonic looked over at the Pokemon. "So you're the one who helped Maria take out Darkrai."

            The Pokemon nodded. " _I can sense that you, like Maria, don't normally live in Pokemon form."_

Knuckles shook his head. "No; in reality, we're Mobians. I'm an echidna and he's a hedgehog."

            Crescent looked the two over. _"I suppose you have been helping Maria regain her memory?"_

            Sonic nodded. "We've been doing this for two nights, only now it seems like we can't do anything more because the rest are apparently locked."

            Crescent looked over at M. _"Really, now? I guess a traumatic event is in order, then."_

            M smirked. "I don't think you need to arrange anything, Crescent. There's one coming up rather soon. Expect some minor chaos back in Treasure Town."

            "Treasure Town?" Sonic repeated.

            I nodded. "That's where my Guild is headquartered, as well as the Wigglytuff Guild, which was set up before ours. There's a huge variety of shops there, too."

            Crescent looked me over. _"You sound like you haven't aged much, Maria. You've been gone for six years, and yet you're still sixteen. What happened?"_

            I shrugged. "I think it may be a gift from Dialga and Palkia or something. I got to the human side at ten years of age, but I still managed to keep my knowledge of Pokemon. I'm not quite sure what happened."

            Crescent frowned. _"I'll make sure to look into it. The dawn approaches, Maria. I'll try to contact you as soon as possible when I find the information."_

"You do that, Crescent. Tell Pika I said hi."

            _"Will do."_

            With that, the whitewashed room faded away into blackness...

**Spacial Break, Scarlet's POV**

            I awoke in the middle of the night, a nightmare fading away to the back of my mind. This one had really scared me out of my wits, and I wasn't planning on going back to sleep anytime soon. So, I pulled out my PokeGear and decided to type in some numbers to get more people in my speed dial. Let's see...I had Professor Rowan, Lilly, Kellyn, Black, Brendan, and Maria, so I added Summer, Ben, and Keith to that list.

            Looking at Summer's name, I remembered what Maria had said earlier about Exploration Teams, Guilds, and about her being a Vulpix. That last thought stuck in my mind the most. Wanting to ask my friend about it, I dialed Summer's number.

            The Ranger picked it up instantly on the other end. _::Hey, this is Summer. What Trainer got ahold of my voicemail number?::_

            "It's me, Summer; Scarlet," I replied.

            There was a pause on the other end. _::I'm not quite sure I believe you on that. Answer me this: what's Scarlet's Partner Pokemon?::_

            "Zap," I fired off. "The Pachirisu who hardly ever leaves my side."

            Zap stirred at the foot of my bed.

            Summer let out a squeal on the other end. _::Scarlet! It is you! What do you want to talk about? It's gotta be four in the morning over in Sinnoh::_

            "I'm just wondering about that incident you had before going to Oblivia," I replied.

            _::That's top secret hush-hush. You know I can't talk about it::_

            I smirked. "That doesn't stop a Vulpix from talking, now does it?"

            There was a gasp on the other side of the line. Summer then demanded, _::How did you know? I only talked to Prof. Hastings about that!::_

            "You could ask Maria White herself in the morning," I replied. "She told me earlier that she used to be a Pokemon who ran a Guild. She said the name was...PokeExplore."

            Summer muttered something I couldn't quite hear over the speaker. _::Wake her up now::_ she ordered.

            I leaned over my bunk to look down at where Maria was sleeping. "She looks pretty deep into it, Summer," I warned. "I doubt I'll be able to actually wake her up. Can't it wait for two hours?"

_::...All right. Just one question: what's the name of her Pokemon Partner?::_

            It took me a moment to remember. "Pika," I stated.

            Summer exhaled. _::I'll tell you guys more about it in a few hours, then. Make sure you're alone. Got it?::_

            I nodded. "Right. I'll call you." With that, I hung up.

            Settling back under the covers of my bed, I looked up at the ceiling and thought about my nightmare. It had started out with me and Keith just relaxing a little, when a couple figures appeared and separated us. Then more appeared and became this giant, wriggling mass, surrounding Keith. Then...it was kind of like they were absorbed into him or something. After that...things I'd rather not mention.

            My thoughts seemed to wake up someone, because Nicole began to stir in her sleep. She sat up and, looking over in my direction, asked, _"Is there something wrong?"_

            I shook my head. "Go back to sleep, Nicole. I'm fine."

            The Pokemon frowned. _"No, you are not fine. I can sense that you are greatly troubled. Might it be something we can talk about? You don't have to if you don't want to."_

            "I don't really want to, Nicole, but...it's going to keep me up until morning of I don't."

_"Think what you are trying to say; I'll hear it and respond the same way. We won't wake up the others this way."_

            I nodded. _Here goes. You see, I had this nightmare that involved one of my friends. His name is Keith, and he's a Pokemon Ranger, like I was once. The dream kind of had us walking together - me back in human form - when these strange, black blobs attacked us. Keith absorbed them, but they did something to him._

_"What sort of something?"_

_It's like...like they turned him into something else...like...he got possessed. Then he started to do...nasty things. That's when I woke up._

            Nicole frowned. _"Sounds like you really care for this boy. However, in your present form, it would be impossible for the two of you to be together...unless you turned back to normal, or he was the one to transform."_

_I'm planning on asking any higher-up Legendaries about turning me back to normal. Being a Mobian is cool...but I miss being a Ranger. A lot._

_"Well, if it were up to me, I would turn you back to normal of you so wished. However, that depends on what your heart desires. I suggest getting your heart sorted before asking any Legendaries about it."_

            I nodded, switching back to vocal. "All right, Nicole. I'll sleep on it." I settled back under the covers and closed my eyes, considering my options...

**Spacial Break**

            Charon was pacing back and forth nervously in his lab. He had recently acquired a new test subject, and he had only just injected the DNA into the boy's system. Now, all he could do was wait and see what would come out of it.

            Saturn, who was leaning against a nearby wall with his Toxicroak, looked bored. "Grandfather, must you pace like that? You're about to wear a track in the floor."

            Charon stopped and glared at him. "You don't get it! This is the third one. If he runs off like the other two, Cyrus is going to shut down the entire project!"

            "Relax, grandfather. I added...something extra this time."

            Charon looked at him, curious. "What do you mean by that?"

            "You'll see. Is the Accelerator working in our favor?"

            Charon glanced in the direction of the test subject. "For now, it is. I just hope that the black one doesn't come back."

            There was a sudden explosion from the containment capsule as a surge of energy entered it. Charon, worried, ran over to inspect the damage.

            A Pokemon in the shadows jumped in fear, then snuck out the doorway. The Toxicroak didn't - or pretended not to - notice.

            "Grandfather," Saturn stated as he walked over. "We can always get another."

            "It's not that," Charon replied, a gleam in his eye. "It worked, Saturn! He survived!"

            The two looked down at the new creature before them. It was as tall as the others, but with dark blue fur, and with spines on the back of its head that went both in the normal downward direction and out to the sides at an angle. It had peach fur in the normal areas, except for its stomach/chest area, where there was a large tuft of white fur right below the neck. The creature also wore simple white gloves, a deep red jacket, and shoes of the same color, with a white ring on each of the toes. The creature was also, for the moment, unconscious.

            Charon grinned, excited. "This is perfect! It seems that Rangers have a DNA composition that allows PokeMorph DNA to bond with them. Perhaps, when this one is under our control, we can find another Ranger."

            "It won't be necessary for us to wait, Grandfather," Saturn stated calmly. Looking at the creature, he said, "Get up."

            The PokeMorph in front of them got up as if on puppet strings, and opened its eyes, revealing red eyes with black slits. It stared at them blankly.

            Charon looked from the PokeMorph to his grandson. "What did you do?"

            Saturn motioned to the adjoining room, where eerie, red flashes were going off. "You should know well enough. We almost have it completed, so I decided to take a piece to help you along. Now, I don't want this...creature to be called anything that could set your other creations off on a frenzy. We ought to call it something else."

            Charon frowned. "How about...Neptune?"

            Saturn rolled his eyes. "I think we've had enough of the solar system, Grandfather. I was thinking we should call it..."


	31. Chapter 31

            When Maria woke up the next morning, she felt ready to take out a whole army of Galactic goons and their Pokemon. Prinplup, who had probably let himself out in the middle of the night, stood next to her bed, the same sort of attitude about him.

            Maria got out of the bed, grinning. "Morning, guys!"

            "Morning," Amy replied, looking over. "Why are you looking so cheerful? These are bad guys we're going up against, remember?"

            "Oh, I know; it's just that I always feel excited when an evil organization is about to fall to its knees. The bosses especially. Their battles may be the toughest, but they're also the best kind to get into."

            Sally looked down from her top bunk, Nicole beside her. "Is that so? In my experience, those kinds of battles are also the most dangerous."

            Maria shrugged. "That's probably because people use Pokemon here to help settle out differences. We don't fight each other with swords or fisticuffs."

            Sally nodded. "I see your point."

            "Take note, though," Maria added, "that some people do charge into a fight with only themselves to fight against some Pokemon. You can too, if you feel the need."

            Amy grinned. "I most certainly will, if Puff gets in trouble."

            Scarlet chuckled as she climbed down the ladder. "You look like the type." She looked at Maria, considering something.

            Maria took note, and asked, "Is something wrong, Scarlet? You seem concerned."

            Scarlet shook her head. "It's nothing. Listen - have you ever met a girl named Summer?"

            Maria frowned. "Summer? Well, the name's familiar, at least. Why do you ask?"

            Scarlet fished in one of her jacket pockets and pulled out her PokeGear. "One of my friends want to talk to you about something. Just give me a second to dial her up." The Mobian went to the speed dial and waited for the other end to pick up, tapping her foot as she did so.

            Sally got out of her bed, as did Nicole, Amy, and Puff.

            "We're going to go see if the boys are up," Sally explained. She and the others then slipped out the door.

            As soon as they were gone, Scarlet put her PokeGear into speaker mode. "You're on, Summer. Speak, and be heard."

            _::Ha ha, very funny::_ Summer replied sarcastically. _::Maria? You there?::_

            "Ranger Summer?" Maria asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

_::Top Ranger, now. Are you the same kid who found me?::_

            "You mean, after you fell through the Wigglytuff Guild's window? Yeah, that was me."

_::The Vulpix? Can't be::_

            "Try repeating that after seeing a talking Pikachu interact with a talking Wigglytuff, who is accompanied by a talking Chatot."

            There was a gasp on the other end. _::Maria! It is you! What happened to make you human again?::_

"I asked Palkia to pull a few strings," Maria explained. "It helps that he's an honorary member of the PokeExplore Guild. How have things been going for you?"

            : _:Well, after my little incident, I managed to go to Oblivia and save the world from a group called the Societea and their group of Pokemon Pinchers. Did you hear about that?::_

            Maria grinned. "Sure did! It's a pity no one was up there with a camera, though. I really wanted to see you befriend Ho-Oh."

            _::Eh; would it help to say that Ben forgot he had one in his Styler?::_

Maria laughed. "A little. Have you told anyone else about what happened?"

_::Only Hastings, and he's said for me to keep it secret. Scarlet was the only one to actually figure it out::_

            "Ah; that explains the call. Where in Oblivia are you?"

            _::Renbow Island; I've been staying at the Area Ranger's place, since I'm not supposed to be a truly permanent Ranger in the region. I think I might end up being one sooner or later. Booker is already starting to draw up the plans for a couple houses for Ben and me, so that we don't take up Rand's couch or the floor. And you?::_

            "Veilstone. Galactic's headquarters is in for a real beat-down from me, Scarlet, and a few friends we've picked up."

            There was laughter on the other end. _::About time those dorks paid for doing what they did to Scarlet! Maybe you guys can figure out where Keith went while your at it::_

            "Keith's missing?" Scarlet asked. She sounded more than just concerned.

_::Yeah; he disappeared not long after your sister vanished. Your parents contacted the Ranger Union as soon as it happened::_

            Scarlet's anxiousness increased. Then she looked at Maria and said, "We're going in now."

**Scarlet's POV**

            Maria frowned for a moment, then nodded. "Right. Let's get the group together and storm the castle." when I gave her a strange look, she demanded, "What? It's an old saying."

            "Well, don't go all medieval on me," I muttered. "Sorry to cut the conversation short, Summer."

 _::It's no problem on my part::_ the Ranger replied. _::Just don't get massacred:_ : With that, she hung up.

            It took us less than a minute to get everyone together. Sonic was the most eager of us to charge unhindered into battle, but Sally really wanted us to plan things out.

            "The only thing you have to worry about are the Pokemon that the Galactic Grunts have," Maria explained calmly. "So long as you and the Pokemon are capable of defending themselves, then you should be fine, and if Nicole or any other Pokemon needs to be healed after a battle, I have the medicine needed."

            Sally looked at Nicole, considering. "Have you done this before?" She looked at Maria, frowning.

            Maria nodded. "Team Rocket was the first to get it, back in Kanto. When someone revived them in Jhoto, I made sure they got their defeat handed to them again. Then, in Hoenn, there were two teams who were trying to either create more land or sea. With a Legendary Pokemon's help, I got them both. This is the third time I've had my journey interrupted by an evil organization, so I've gotten used to it."

            "Can we just get going?" Sonic asked. I nodded in agreement.

            "They won't wait forever, you know," I added. "And neither will we."

            Maria nodded. "Right. Let's go."

            We ran out of the Pokemon Center and straight for the Galactic building. All around us, the locals watched in confusion, wondering why so many strange Pokemon were running rampant in the streets. Of course, there wasn't enough time to tell them that some of us weren't actually Pokemon and that one of us used to be human.

            Maria got up to the front of the Galactic Building, grinned at the rest of us, and kicked the door open.

            "Heeeey, Galactic!" Maria called as she walked in casually.

            Two grunts and a scientist looked over in our direction.

            "And what do you want?" a secretary asked flatly.

            Maria grinned as Prinplup jumped in front of her, but that grin faded into a determined frown. "I want you out of this city, and clear of anything lethal. Now."

            The woman smirked as she adjusted her green wig. "I don't think you have the authority to have us do that, kid. Now get off the property, or else I'll have to call the cops." She pulled out a PokeBall, only to have it taken away by a blast of wind.

            Sonic smirked as he tossed the PokeBall lightly in one hand. "Looking for this?"

            "Get them!" the secretary barked. "Kadabra, come out of there!"

            The PokeBall Sonic had in his hand suddenly burst open, releasing the Psychic-Type.

            Maria turned around sharply. "Single file BubbleBeam!" she barked.

            Prinplup spun on one foot and shot the Pokemon in the chest with the hard bubbles at a speed I'd never seen before from him. Obviously, there was more to Maria's training regimen than meets the eye.

            The Kadabra stepped back as the move hit, then braced itself for the rest of it.

            Maria let out a low growl. "Rats. Only quarter damage. Get it with a Brine and let's move on."

            Prinplup nodded and blasted the Kadabra, causing it to faint.

            Maria nodded in acknowledgment over at my surprised look. "Worked on that with Bubble, back when he was a Piplup." She looked over at the shocked Galactic members. "Now to get the rest of these goons."

            The scientist let out a growl. "Go, Magnemite! Get rid of these pests!"

            "Chaos Palm," Knuckles stated calmly. A moment later, the Magnemite was out cold, Vent standing over him.

            "Don't try anything else, any of you," Amy growled. She pulled a red and yellow hammer out of nowhere and glared at the grunts, who stared back, alarmed. "And don't make me hurt you."

            The men backed away slowly, watching the hedgehog. I was a little wary, too. Amy was starting to look a little more dangerous; I can see why Sonic's so careful around her.

            Maria pulled out the Galactic Key we'd found in the basement and walked over to the steel door at the back of the lobby. She slid it in and out of the key card slot, and the door slid open on smooth hinges.

            "Come on, guys," Maria said. "Let's trash the rest of this place."

            Sonic grinned at the rest of us. "Let's do it to it!"

            We ran into the rest of the building, leaving behind some rather terrified looking grunts.

            After we'd gone up a set of stairs, Maria caught the attention of a pair of grunts.

            "Having fun, little intruder?" one asked.

            "Not quite yet," Maria replied coolly. "There's one thing missing..."

            Another pair of grunts ran up from out of nowhere.

            "We got the alert that there were intruders in the building!" one reported.

            "Knux, let's tag team them," Sonic said. "Let's get 'em, Paul!" He and the Flying-Type ran at them, followed by Knuckles and Vent.

            Maria grinned at Sally. "Watch and learn, Sal." She turned and glared at the two grunts in front of her. "Sparks! Star! Let's go!"

            "Golbat!" the other two called out. They were gone in less than a minute. Sonic and Knuckles took a little while longer.

            "Took you long enough," Maria remarked with a grin. "For the fastest thing alive, you've got a thing or two to learn about making Pokemon Battles speedy." She took out a couple Hyper Potions and tossed them over. "Use them when your Pokemon are about to topple over from exhaustion."

            The two Mobians nodded.

            I jogged ahead to see if there were any more grunts, and I passed a room with a huge widescreen in it. There was a sign next to the doorway that said "Galactic TV room." There was a scientist sitting in there, staring at the TV as if that was all that was needed in life.

            I exchanged glances with Zap, who seemed to be thinking the same thing I was. I walked over to where the scientist sat, my Partner on my shoulder.

            "Hey, buddy; whatcha watchin'?" I asked.

            The scientist turned to look at me sharply. "It's you. The one who disrupted everything for us." He got up, PokeBall in hand. "You're going to pay for disrupting our research! Go, Kadabra!"

            "Super Fang, Zap!" I barked. Zap charged at the Psychic-Type and bit down hard on the Pokemon's tail.

            Maria turned the corner just as Zap got Disabled.

            "Prinplup, Brine!" she called.

            Prinplup fired off the move quickly, and Kadabra went down.

            Maria looked over at Zap. "It was nice of you to use Super Fang. Cutting down Kadabra's health to half increased Brine's power by double."

            Prinplup grinned, then started glowing. I watched in surprise as he got to about Maria's height, with three prongs coming out the top of his head. When the light had faded, I realized that Prinplup had evolved to reach his final stage, a Pokemon that I had only seen in the northern area of Almia: Empoleon.

            Maria grinned with delight. "All right, Leon! Now I can give you a proper nickname! Ya like it?"

            Leon grinned. "Yeah! It's awesome!"

            Maria nodded. "Good. Let's get going; we don't got all day, y'know." She looked over to a corner of the room and spotted a warp panel. "Oh, hey! We could use that." She stuck her head out the doorway. "This way, guys! Come on!"

            The Mobians ran over, looking a little beat up.

            "What happened to you?" I asked.

            "Galactics," Sonic replied with a shrug. "You?"

            "Just a scientist," Maria replied. "Zap and Leon tag teamed his Kadabra."

            "Leon?" Tails repeated.

            "He who used to be called Prinplup. My starter's reached his final form."

            "Yup!" Leon grinned widely.

            "I get the feeling that this warp panel over here can take us deeper in," Maria continued, pointing to the yellow warp panel in the corner of the room. "I wanted to make sure that you guys knew."

            Sally nodded. "We figured as much. There were two other panels at the end of the passage, but one led to a dead end and the other gave us this." She handed Maria a spiky object.

            "Whoa, a Max Revive! These are super rare and hard to find. They don't even sell them in PokeMarts anymore." Maria put the item in her backpack. "They're supposed to heal your Pokemon completely if they faint in battle, kind of like the Reviver Seeds the Exploration Teams use. I'll hold onto it for now, and we can use it when I run out of the regular Revives." She motioned to the warp panel. "Come on, guys. There's probably more grunts this way." She stepped onto the warp panel and vanished. The rest of us followed.

            On the other side of the connection, Maria was waiting next to a pair of beds.

            "What are beds doing in this place?" I asked.

            "What do recharge stations do in random locations?" Maria retorted.

            How did she know about that?

            Maria motioned to the beds. "These are to recharge both you and your Pokemon. Just take a quick nap. I don't know who makes these beds, but whoever does must be related to a Nurse Joy."

            Sonic crawled into one of the beds, followed by Paul. About eight seconds later, the two jumped out of the bed and zoomed over to a set of stairs nearby.

            "How did that bed do that?" Sonic asked. "I'd only just closed my eyes before feeling like I'd just eaten a chili dog!"

            Knuckles and Vent, who looked a little more beat up than the rest, got into the other bed, only to get out eight seconds later, like Sonic.

            "Wow," Knuckles stated. "It kind of felt like someone was releasing Chaos Energy into me."

            Vent nodded in agreement.

            Tails jumped into the bed, and Amy got into the other with Puff. They came out rejuvenated. After them, Sally and Nicole tried the beds.

            "I think there may be some sort of therapeutic attribute to having beds like that," Sally remarked. "Where to next?"

            "We gotta go up the stairs," Maria replied. "Come on."

            As soon as we walked up the stairs, we were surrounded by grunts.

            Maria let out a growl. "Great. I'll take these two, Sonic and Knuckles can team up, Tails can go with Sal, and Scarlet with Amy. Let's go."

            One of the grunts laughed. "The order's been issued - we get a promotion if we can take all of you down!"

            "We'll see about that," Maria replied. "Star and Machoke! Take the stage!"

            Zap and I glared at the grunt we were standing across from. He glared back, then released a Golbat. His partner brought out a Glameow.

            "Zap, use Spark on the Golbat!" I ordered. "Just like with a Capture."

            "Puff, use Pound on the cat!" Amy called out.

            The Jigglypuff ran over to the Glameow and slapped it with his small arm, which had quite a lot of power in it. Zap, for his small size, actually managed to take out the Golbat in one move.

            "Hey, Zap - what's your level?" I asked.

            "Pachi Pachi," Zap replied proudly.

            "He says he's Level 50," Sonic called. Paul was suddenly beat back by a move from a Croagunk after getting too close. Sonic then Spin Dashed into it, knocking it into the grunt who was its Trainer. "That's for trying to poison him! You all right, Paul?"

            "Pidge," Paul muttered. He got up onto his feet from the floor, shaking off a Poison Jab. Then he glared at the grunt and fired off a Twister in his direction, sending the grunt spinning into a wall.

            Sonic nodded his approval. "That's good. Let's get these guys." He charged at the Glameow's Trainer, who was having a hard time staying awake because Puff was using Sing. It only took him a second to take him out, and a couple more for Puff to finish off the Pokemon. By then, everyone else was done with their battles.

            "So, Sal, what do you think about Pokemon Battles?" Sonic asked.

            "Strange...yet also something I think I can get used to," his girlfriend replied. "Nicole, what do you think?"

            _"It seems...odd, to do these things in this form,"_ the Kirlia admitted. _"However, this is coming from a computer who could create things out of nanites. I, also, believe I can get used to this sensation."_

Maria looked around, spotting two warp panels. "Give me a Sonic Second to find the panel that'll take us deeper." She jumped onto the first one, reappeared a moment later to jump onto the next.

            When she came out of the second one, she stated, "It has to be this one. The other one was a dead end."

            "Then let's go," Sonic stated impatiently. He dove onto the panel, Paul not far behind. The rest of us followed.


	32. Chapter 32

**Maria's POV**

            As I stepped off the warp panel with the others, I started to get this strange sensation, almost like I'd been here before. I'd experienced this feeling before, when I'd reached certain points in the other headquarters. It was usually right before the final battle, except for Team Aqua's place...then, it had been when I was getting close to the Master Ball...

            I glared over at the stairs. It was probably the last link between me and this whatever it was that was causing me to feel déjà vu.

            I glared over at the stairs. "I think this is it, guys. You ready?"

            The others nodded vigorously.

            "Then let's go." I started up the stairs, followed by the Mobians.

            Beyond the stairs, there was some sort of huge...I don't know, auditorium or something. And it was filled with grunts. And we were on the edge of a stage, out of sight of the audience.

            "Whoa!" Leon exclaimed in his language. "Look at all those goons!"

            "It would probably take us a whole day to fight them all," Sally murmured.

            Scarlet pointed to the center of the stage. "Look. It's that guy we ran into a Mt. Coronet, Maria."

            I looked to where she was pointing. Sure enough, there he was. I had run into him outside of the Celestic Ruins, as well, when Scarlet had been talking with Cynthia's grandmother. His name was Cyrus, and he was the leader of Team Galactic. He had claimed that spirit was useless...like he himself had no heart...

            "Kind of looks like he's about to make some sort of speech," Tails noted.

            "Galactic grunts, the day is almost upon us!" Cyrus called over the microphone to the crowd of grunts. "That day when we create a new world...a perfect world, where spirit does not exist!"

            Everybody in the group reeled back in shock as the grunts below us cheered loudly.

            "Gah...a place without spirit..." I murmured. "That's not a place I want to be a part of!"

            Cyrus turned his head; he'd heard my exclamation. "Come out of the shadows!" he ordered.

            Leon let out a growl, and I nodded.

            "Right," I agreed. "Time to show this guy what we're made of!"

            My Starter and I stepped out onto the stage, causing the crowd of grunts to gasp, then boo and hiss.

            "And the rest of your friends," Cyrus added, still glaring at the end of the stage.

            Sonic stepped out boldly, followed by Paul, earning another gasp.

            "He has the boss' hairdo!" one grunt shouted.

            Sonic glared in the grunt's direction. "I don't have his; _he_ has _mine_. This was my hairdo before heartless over there was born! The name's Sonic the Hedgehog!"

            Knuckles came out next with Vent.

            "That one's as red as Mars!" another grunt called.

            Knuckles turned his head. "The name's Knuckles, bub. I'm an Echidna, and I'm not from Mars."

            I chuckled at that; Knuckles had obviously misheard what the grunt had said.

            Tails decided to make more of a surprising entrance; he flew in using his tails, Gear beside him.

            "Is that Vulpix flying?" a third grunt gawked.

            Tails landed and shook his head. "I'm not a Vulpix; I'm a Fox. The name's Tails." He walked over and stood next to Sonic, who exchanges grins with him.

            The next two to walk out were Sally and Nicole. When someone let out a yell of surprise at not seeing them in the storage facility, Nicole let out a quick blast of Magical Leaf, getting the grunt all over with the sharp leaves. Then Amy came out with Puff. As soon as she caught the grunts staring at her, she summoned her Piko Piko Hammer and swung it around warningly.

            "Try anything, and you're dead," she growled. A couple grunts near the stage backed away slowly.

            I glared back at Cyrus, who was looking my group over with an emotionless glare, if such a thing can exist.

            "There is one more with you," he muttered.

            "Yeah," Scarlet said as she stepped out of the shadows with Zap on her shoulder. "Me."

            The grunts let out a collective gasp.

            "That's the PokeMorph that ran out of the building a little less than a week ago!" a scientist identified. "The one referred to as Scarlet!"

            "Of course it's me!" Scarlet retorted as Zap glared at the crowd. "Zap, stay cool. We're outnumbered a hundred to one here."

            "Humph," the Pachirisu grunted.

            I looked back at Cyrus. "This is my group, bub. Ya got something to make of it?"

            Cyrus looked at Sonic. "Midnight; Defense."

            A midnight blue hedgehog appeared in front of Cyrus, a blank stare on its face.

            "Another one?" Knuckles asked.

            I looked the hedgehog over. There was something...off about it. One of which was that, unlike most Mobians, it had a white tuft of fur on his chest, rather than the peach-colored area. The Mobian also had simple white gloves, a dark red jacket, and dark red shoes that had white rings around the toes - one per shoe. Probably the most disturbing thing about him was his eyes. They were red, with black slits, and they reminded me of something dreadful, which I couldn't quite place. Probably one of those locked memories trying to fully come out.

            Cyrus caught me staring the creature in the eyes, a dry smile crossing his face. "Saturn...slipped something into into Charon's most recent creation. It has helped me quite a lot when it comes to...law enforcement." He looked out over my group and stopped at Scarlet. "Midnight; fetch the Ranger."

            The Mobian in front of me vanished and reappeared a moment later, holding onto Scarlet's right arm, Zap still on her shoulder.

            "He's using Chaos Control," Scarlet growled. She tried to shake off the Mobian's grip, but Midnight had a strong grip on her. "Let go!"

            Midnight didn't answer. It was almost like he didn't have a mouth...

            I glared at Cyrus. "Release her."

            Cyrus looked at Midnight. "Standby."

            The hedgehog Chaos Controlled and reappeared by the wall, still holding Scarlet back.

            "I want to test you and your spirit," Cyrus stated calmly, pulling a PokeBall from his belt. "And spirit makes us incomplete. This is why I am going to create a new world...where everything is perfect...and spirit does not exist. I can tell you want the three Lake Spirits, correct? I'm done with them. You can do what you want with them. However, you are quite the specimen."

            The hair on the back of my neck started to rise. Him, calling _me_ a _specimen_? I _really_ wanted to turn into a Vulpix right then and there and torch the guy -- or maybe call on one of my stronger Pokemon from the other regions or my guild.

            "You came here, even though you have no real connection with them." Hah; that's what he thinks. "Emotions, like pity and compassion, are created through weakness of a human heart. You were brought here by such things, and are going to pay for paying heed to your heart!" Cyrus tossed the PokeBall out, only for a Murkrow to come out.

            I readied Sparks' ball. "You know nothing about me, Cyrus. Nothing of my past." I released Sparks from her ball. "If you think that I'm the one who's going to pay, you're wrong! Sparks, use Spark!"

            "Drill Peck!"

            Sparks took the hit like it was nothing, then fainted the Dark/Flying-Type. I then left Sparks out, some sort of intuition telling me that Cyrus was going to bring out another Flying-Type.

            Sure enough, Cyrus released a Golbat.

            "Bite," Cyrus ordered.

            "Spark!" I called.

            The Golbat really paid for it, but his defense was strong. Then, much to my surprise, Cyrus brought out a Super Potion and used it on his Pokemon! I mean, he claims that he uses Pokemon merely for power, and this might contradict his whole "spirit is weak" shtick.

            "Spark!" I called. The move fainted the enemy Pokemon.

            I called Sparks back, intuition telling me a Dark or Ice Type was coming out next.

            "Machoke, you're up!" I called, releasing the Fighting-Type. Almost like I had expected, Cyrus brought out a Sneasel.

            "My last Pokemon," Cyrus stated flatly.

            I nodded in acknowledgement. "Machoke, Revenge!"

            Sneasel fell instantly.

            "I see," Cyrus stated, ignoring the cries of despair from the grunts. "You are indeed strong. And the basis of your power is your compassion toward Pokemon, yes?"

            I nodded once. "I find them as friends, not tools."

            Cyrus scoffed, "How wasteful. Such emotions are mere illusions. And, like all illusions, they fade over time until death banishes them forever. That is why I have abandoned all emotion to mere sentimentality." He snapped his fingers, and Midnight released Scarlet, returning to Cyrus' side. "But that doesn't matter. I doubt you will ever understand my position."

            "And vice versa," I muttered.

            "That said, I see that you are strong and courageous to come at me alone," Cyrus continued.

            Sonic let out a loud cough. "Uh, heelllooo, Mobians with Pokemon are present."

            Cyrus ignored him and gave me a familiar purple sphere with an M engraved on the front. "This is your reward."

            I took the Master Ball and put it in my backpack.

            "That Master Ball is not anything that I require," Cyrus explained. "Unlike Trainers, I do not treat Pokemon as friends or partners. Also, unlike them, I don't use them as tools. I make the power of Pokemon my own." He started to walk away calmly, Midnight still at his side. Then he stopped and, without turning back to look, stated, "If you wish to save the Pokemon of the lakes, take the warp panel ahead. I am off to Mt. Coronet."

            "Where we first ran into each other," I muttered, frowning.

            Cyrus gave me a curt nod. "I shall ascend to its peak and put an end to everything... No. I shall bring about a new beginning for everything..." He then walked off the stage, motioning for the grunts in the room to follow him out.

            I walked over to Scarlet. "You all right?"

            Scarlet nodded, but she seemed...shaken.

            "This must be the warp panel he was talking about," Sally remarked, pointing to the yellow one on the other side of the stage. "It looks like he wants us to go this way, because the other passage is blocked off."

            "He wants them off his hands before I leave," I muttered. "And I'd prefer it that way. Those three...they form an Exploration Team that is in my Guild under the name of Spirit. They used to guard Time Gears in separate Dungeons in the area Wigglytuff's Guild was able to travel in. Uxie had Fogbound Lake, Mesprit had the Underground Lake, and Azelf was at the Crystal Lake. After the Temporal Tower had been restored, they requested to join up with me and Pika, which we, of course, accepted. Who wouldn't want a Legendary, much less three, on your side?" I left the question unanswered as I made my way over to where the warp panel was. "Come on; I don't know what Galactic's doing to them, and I don't want them doing whatever it is to them any longer." I stepped onto the panel, and then was teleported...

            ...into a lab.

            There was a scientist weeping nearby. I walked over and asked, "Is something wrong?"

            "I was forced to cooperate with Team Galactic," the man replied, "but their experiments have gone to far...what he did to that boy..."

            "What who did to what boy?" Scarlet asked, coming over with the rest of the group.

            "Charon...he...turned him into...something else."

            Scarlet looked worried. "Oh, no." She spotted a woman up ahead and dashed for her, roaring, "You! Charon's assistant! Who had to play guinea pig for Charon this time?!"

            The woman sniffled. "I...don't know. Cyrus had me placed under Saturn's command after the second one happened. I can't say anything in my defense, but...that thing we were forced to make...what are we going to do with it?"

            "What's your name?" I asked as the rest of us approached.

            "...Catherine," the woman replied.

            "Well, Catherine, I suggest you leave this place behind and go home. I can tell you don't want to remember what you've done, so leave it behind, and try to return to a normal lifestyle. All right?"

            Catherine nodded. "Thank you." She ran past us and out as fast as she could, like she wanted to mimic a certain hedgehog.

            Scarlet glared at me. "Why'd you let her go?"

            "Some of Team Dim Sun repented," I pointed out. "Also, others from other teams have been allowed to return to their ordinary lifestyles after serving their punishment. That woman seems to have seen enough to serve for more than a lifetime. Come on; we've got some Pokemon to liberate." I turned and looked at a doorway that I somehow already knew was there, and walked in.

            Inside, there was all sorts of scientific equipment scattered all over the room. What I paid attention to the most, however, were the three strange, capsule-like objects that held the Lake Pokemon inside. The first one I saw was yellow, with a helmet like a Gardevoir's on it's head, and the signature two tails with the red crystals: Uxie, otherwise known as Merlin in my case. He really looked horrible; his eyes were squeezed tight, and that was a bad sign, especially for him.

            "Keep clear of Merlin's front," I warned. "If he's in extreme pain, he's prone to opening his eyes to ward off danger."

            "And that's a bad thing?" Sonic asked.

            "Legend says that if anyone looks at Uxie's eyes, they'll lose their memory," Scarlet explained. Everyone instantly moved away from the Pokemon's possible line of sight.

            I quickly snuck around the pillar thing in the center, moving to the right. There, I ran into the next of the trio, but I ran into him last. He had three blue spikes on his head, and blue eyes to match, but they were squinting in pain, as his body was wracked by a seizure: Azelf, who, for some reason, preferred to be called Jewels. I'm not sure if that was how he normally spelled it, but that's how I thought of his name, since he lived in a cave of crystals normally...

            "This is Jewels, guys," I explained. "The Legendary Pokemon Azelf."

            Sally frowned. "How do you spell his name, exactly?"

            I shrugged. "I think it's jewels as in jewelry, since he hangs out in a cave of crystals. Whoever's doing this to him is so going to pay for it, though - legend says that Azelf can control what you're going to do - make you repeat it, make you do something else, and so on."

            We left Jewels behind and went around, stopping at the last Lake Pokemon, who had four pink dreadlock-shapes on its head, two on each side. The only movement that showed it was still alive was its twitching tails, and it's squinting, red eyes: Mesprit, other wise known as Lien.

            "This must be Mesprit," Knuckles guessed. "Kind of looks like a cross between an echidna and a Chao."

            "She prefers to be called Lien for some reason," I explained.

            "You certainly seem to know a lot about these Pokemon," a familiar voice noted.

            I turned my head slightly, looking the pillar in the room out of the corner of my eye. "I've known these Pokemon longer than you have, Saturn. And that's saying a lot. Cyrus let us come down her to set them loose."

            "I never really understood our boss, as if that's saying much," the Commander remarked. "Why he would let you come and go freely..." He shook his head. "We of Team Galactic take what we need and eliminate what we don't. But anyway, you've taken the trouble to come." He held up a PokeBall. "Let me welcome you! Consider it payback for at the lake." He released a Kadabra from the PokeBall.

            "Sparks, I need your assistance!" I called.

            After Saturn fainted Kadabra, the fight became a bit one-sided when I brought Jirachi and Luke into the mix, easily knocking his Kadabra, Bronzor, and Toxicroak into next week.

            "What makes your Pokemon so strong?!" Saturn demanded as he returned his Toxicroak.

            "My bonds wi-" I started.

            "Whatever! I've heard all that before. Do whatever you want with those three Pokemon. Press the button on the machine to set them free." He stepped off to one side, revealing a red button on the pillar. I promptly slammed it down with my fist, causing the capsules to open up.

            Merlin let out a sigh of relief. _"Ah. Much better."_ He floated off the capsule and vanished.

            Lien shook out the kinks in her body. _"Gotta stop him,"_ she muttered. Then she, too, vanished.

            Jewels floated off his capsule and looked at Sonic, then at me. _"Thank you for doing that_." Then he, too, was gone.

            Saturn looked at me. "We used the Pokemon to craft an item called the Red Chain," he explained. "Cyrus took it to Mt. Coronet. I have no idea what he's planning on doing with it."

            My eyes narrowed as I started to get an inkling of what was going on. I promptly turned on my heel and stomped out the door, followed by everyone else. As soon as I stepped out, I ran into something.

            "Hey!" the figure barked, jumping back. "Watch where you're going!"

            "Sorry, buddy," I replied in passing. "I guess I was just...lost in thought." I looked the figure over. Tail with two tips...inflatable collar... "You know, I find it kind of odd that a Pokemon like you is around here, Buizel. What's the problem?"

            "First off, the name's Zel," the Pokemon corrected. "Second, my Ranger got taken here, with me along for the ride in secret. This old man...he did something to my partner. Something really bad."

            Scarlet forced her way through the group to where I was standing. "Zel? Is that you?"

            Zel looked over at Scarlet and came forward cautiously, his nose twitching. "Scarlet?"

            Scarlet nodded as Zap jumped off her shoulder. "Where's Keith, Zel?"

            Zel looked a little nervous. "That's kind of my problem...he's not Keith anymore."

            Sonic frowned. "What do you mean by that? Did something happen to him?"

            Zel nodded sadly. "If you run into a PokeMorph that never leaves Cyrus' side, try to knock some sense into him for me."

            Now I knew who he was talking about. "Midnight."

            Zel looked at me in surprise. "So, you've seen him?"

            "Cyrus got him to grab me!" Scarlet replied. "Where's Charon?"

            Zel looked around, then pointed to a wall nearby. "He's got a secret lab there; there's a fake wall in the way, so it almost looks like his lab is nonexistent."

            "I'll find it," Sonic stated. He went into Spin Dash mode and bore a hole in the center of the wall. He kicked down the fake wall - which was to the right if his hole - a second later.

            "The old guy who turned Scarlet into a PokeMorph is in there," he explained.

            Scarlet dashed through the entrance to the lab; the rest of us followed.

            Inside this lab, there was all sorts of scientific and, oddly enough, medical equipment. I spotted a device in the corner that looked like it had been hooked up to someone.

            Scarlet caught me staring and followed my gaze. "That should go back to the Ranger Union. When we arrest Cyrus, I'm gonna come back here and get this."

            Sally looked over a capsule-like object that seemed to have been torn open. "This looks like some sort of energy absorber," she remarked. "What do you think, Tails?"

            The two-tailed fox came over and examined the capsule. "There's an imprint in here...it looks like this held a Chaos Emerald at some point."

            "Really?" Knuckles asked. "Looks like what the scientist guy said back there might be true then; Charon did have a Chaos Emerald."

            "Who's there?" demanded a voice from the back of the lab.

            Scarlet and I exchanged glances; we knew that voice. The others saw our looks and caught on.

            "O.K., let's get him," Scarlet muttered. She crept forward, slipping around what looked like a console...which was smoking because of some sort of past event.

            "Wow...it looks like this Charon guy has to replace his equipment often," Tails remarked as we passed by a broken capsule.

            Scarlet chuckled. "That one there was my fault. And, to be perfectly honest, I'm glad I broke it and everything else before I'd left."

            "My first PokeMorph has returned!" Charon exclaimed. He forced his way past a destroyed machine that looked like it used to hold the capsule Tails had found earlier, only to stop short in front of our group, his grin faltering. "Oh, dear."

            Faster than my eye could follow, Scarlet grabbed the old man by the collar of his uniform and slammed him against a metal wall. "What did you do to Keith?!" she demanded.

            The old man pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. "Like even I know. Ask my grandson; he did it."

            "You were the one who initiated the process, Charon. What did you do to him?!"

            Knuckles looked the old man over, a green energy forming on his gloves. He punched the wall on the left side of Charon's head, leaving a smoking crater behind.

            "What did you do to him?" Knuckles repeated calmly. I could tell he was trying to keep his temper under control, and I kind of wondered why.

            Charon looked extremely nervous to find the echidna staring him down like that. "Er...well, Saturn had decided to slip...something else in, just to keep my little lab here."

            "More like a junkyard," Amy muttered.

            "Keep going," Knuckles growled, the green energy returning to his gloves.

            Charon gulped. "It was a piece of something called the Red Chain. It's meant to control Pokemon. Saturn thought it might work on my little project, as well."

            Scarlet was starting to look worried, but she didn't loosen her grip on the old man. She looked at me. "We have to get to Mt. Coronet. Now."

            I nodded, and almost left, but Knuckles stopped me.

            "I've got one more thing to ask him," he stated. Looking at the Galactic scientist, he asked, "What do you know about Enerjak?"

            Charon stiffened. That seemed to be what Knuckles wanted as an answer.

            The echidna brought one fist up close to the old man's face. "If you try anything in this place, in that form, against me, you're dead, Finitivus. Get it?" He moved his glove to a spot above the old man and punched the wall, leaving a crater larger than the last one. Then Knuckles looked at me and said, "Let's go."

            Scarlet nodded and dropped the old man onto the floor, from which he got up hastily. He tried to say something else, but the other Mobians shot him a glare that shut him up rather quickly.

            As we were about to leave his lab, he called out, "Not all is as it seems for the girl you travel with!"

            I turned to look at him. "They know I was turned into a Vulpix, Charon. Go back to your broken toys; we're going to stop your boss." With that, we turned and left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really like some of the villains who come and go in the Archie comics before Penders got snippy, okay? Finitivus is -- or was -- a real piece of work.


	33. Chapter 33

**Maria's POV**

            Once we had left the room, I asked Knuckles, "Why did you address Charon as Finitivus?"

            "Old villain," Knuckles stated. "He was an echidna who wanted to destroy the world and recreate it in his own image. Finitivus used negative Chaos Energy and his own brand of Warp Ring. He...experimented with the Master Emerald...put a hex on it, to be precise. It turned me into Enerjak."

            I frowned, bringing up what I knew about Knuckles' past. "Enerjak" was the name of the power-hungry god he turned into at one point, right before Locke, his dad, supposedly died.

            "Are you saying that that white echidna was turned into a human?" I asked.

            Knuckles nodded. "Seems like it. And if he's around, there could be others, too."

            Sonic saw where Knuckles was going with this. "We'll have to keep an eye out for anyone who acts and sounds like any of our friends," he noted.

            "But first, we gotta get to Mt. Coronet and stop Cyrus," I stated. "Come on; we'll make a stop at the Pokemon Center and head up the mountain."

            We dashed off the warp panel and back onto the stage.

            "The blockade's gone!" Amy noted, pointing to a now open path. This one, however, was green.

            I frowned. "It looks like this is one of those one-way panels," I remarked.

            "One way?" Sonic repeated.

            I nodded. "They usually go back to the entrance of a building." I jumped onto the panel and was teleported to what looked like a warehouse room, a door wide open and the space empty.

            "Where are we?" Sonic asked as he appeared with Paul.

            "In a warehouse, which is most likely connected to the Galactic HQ," I replied. It didn't take long for the others to appear, as well. Then we walked out...and reentered Veilstone City.

            I looked up at the sky. Seeing the sun still fairly high up, I grinned. "Good. I have enough time to restock before we leave."

            "And I can get the Tornado ready," Tails added.

            I could see where he was going with this, but I shook my head. "Not a good idea. A big section of the mountain is covered in snowstorms. We're going to have to hoof it through the caves within the mountain."

            "How do you know?" Sally asked.

            I pulled out my Town Map and pointed at the peak of Mt. Coronet. Even on a map that showed only the routes and cities, the mountain was still drawn to have snow on the top. "See? A plane wouldn't be able to go through a snowstorm up there. They'd probably be expecting an aerial assault, anyway - I think Cyrus was keeping track of our movements."

            Sally nodded in agreement. "Right. I don't really think we should head out right away, though. We should take some time to rest up before we climb that."

            I thought for a moment, then nodded. "All right. Let's head over to Harthome first, though; there's an entrance into the mountain caves pretty close to there. We can restock and take in the sights. There's even a park you can explore, if you want to."

            Amy looked at Puff, then back at me. "Let's go, then!"

            We ran for the plane, which was right where we had left it earlier, only it was being looked at by a couple curious Starly and Staravia.

            "Oi!" I called. "Pardon us, but we kind of need to use that! You mind?"

            A Staravia looked over and, catching sight of our large group, jumped off the wing he was using as a perch.

            "You use this to get around?" he asked. "What's it called?"

            "It's a biplane," Sonic stated. "Tails made it for long-distance traveling."

            Tails waved in greeting at the bird Pokemon.

            The birds nodded, understanding. Then the Staravia looked at me and said, "Just so you know, the PokeExplore Guild has noticed some changes in the area. A few of them want to check things out."

            I nodded. "I appreciate the warning."

            The bird bowed to our group, then directed his little flock to take off for someplace else.

            After the birds had left (and Tails had made sure that everything was still in working order), we got ready to depart. I, of course, decided to ride on Star, so as to make more room on the plane. Zel, since he didn't really like the look of it, got on behind me, and I figured that was fine enough; after all, he has ridden on a Staraptor with a human before. Tails, after returning Gear to his Ultra Ball, got into the cockpit. Sonic and Sally got onto one wing of the plane, Nicole between them, and Paul ready to fly alongside. Knuckles and Amy got onto the other wing, one above and one below on the two levels, their Pokemon nearby. Scarlet decided to jump into the passenger's seat behind Tails, Zap still on her shoulder. This, of course, forced Leon to return to his PokeBall, seeing as there was nowhere for him to actually sit. He probably would have weighed down the plane by a lot, anyway.

            As Tails was starting up the engine, he asked me, "Where's Harthome?"

            "It's to the southwest," I replied. "On this side of Mt. Coronet. I'll let you know when we get close." Star took off into the air, Paul and the plane following behind us.

            As we flew, I started to think about the strange sensations that I had experienced back in the Galactic HQ. It seemed odd that so many had happened at once. I mean, normally, I would only get it once - right before the boss battle - but this time it went beyond that. When I was battling Saturn, I felt like I had done this before. It was...odd, mostly because I hadn't heard of Team Galactic until that day in Jubilife, when I had helped Professor Rowan out, fighting those two grunts who had wanted his papers. I wonder if I'd heard about them in the future somewhere... No, that's not it. I was on the wrong side of the world - the Exploration side. If I'd been on this side of the world, then maybe.

            Star noticed that I was being rather silent. Normally, I would have tried to strike up a conversation with Sonic and the others by now.

            "Is something wrong?" she asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

            "Nothing's wrong, Star," I replied. "I was just thinking."

            The bird glanced back at me. "If you're taking this long, then it must be something serious. Care to talk about it?"

            I shook my head. "Thanks, Star, but no. This is something I want to figure out myself."

            "All right, then. Sonic seems concerned about something, as well."

            I looked over at the blue hedgehog. Sure enough, he was actually sitting on the wing, frowning. Sally was sitting next to him; most likely, the two were in deep discussion.

            "Let's go over there," I suggested to Star. The Staraptor nodded in agreement, and we flew a little closer to the wing, so as to hear what they we talking about.

            "I just don't get it, Sal," Sonic was saying. "Finitivus is here, but Eggman isn't. I thought we would have run into him by now."

            "Maybe he just wasn't brought here," Sally suggested. "Besides, from what I've heard, Finitevus is...different."

            "A different kind of insane," Sonic muttered. "I mean, come on! Even Naugus was brought to this place! You would have thought Eggman'd be here, too."

            "And you care about that because..." I let my voice fade, expecting an answer from the hedgehog.

            "Because...I dunno..." the hedgehog scratched his head for a moment. "I'm used to him showing up with some new scheme to take over the world, I guess. He's the biggest enemy I've had to face for most of my life, and it feels...odd, him not being around."

            A thought popped into my head. "I wonder how things are going to be going back in the past. I mean, you guys were pretty much the only things standing between him and world domination! What's going to stop him from changing the present?"

            "Silver," Sally replied.

            Star looked confused. "Who?"

            "The silver hedgehog from the future, right?" I asked.

            Sonic nodded. "After we had rescued Sal, Silver got a visit from a future version of Mammoth Mogul, only this guy wasn't the take over the world type. He said that Silver was now a Knight of Chronos or something like that. Anyway, it's apparently his job to protect the time stream from anybody who would try to change it. Like, say, anything Eggman might do. So, I'm not that worried, but I'd feel a whole lot better if Eggy was somewhere I could see him."

            "We're getting close to Harthome," Star warned. "I can see Amity Park from here."

            I nodded. "Right. Come on, guys; our destination's down there." Star began to descend; Paul and the Tornado followed. We landed in a clearing surrounded by trees right behind the Contest Hall. Then we walked into town and into the Pokemon Center to get ourselves a couple rooms.

            "What was that building we passed by earlier?" Amy asked as I gave my Pokemon to Nurse Joy to have them healed.

            "It's called the Contest Hall," I explained. "That's where you dress up your Pokemon and show them off to these three judges, while competing against three other contestants. They have contests going on practically all the time over there, so it's easy to get into one. I could show you around later, if you want."

            "That would be great!" Amy exclaimed. "I could enter a Contest and show off how cute Puff is!"

            "You're going to need a license first," I warned. "I competed in the Contests back in Hoenn, so I really don't feel the need to do so here. If the want arises, I'll probably jump in the first chance I get." Nurse Joy came back with my Pokemon, and I took them back and headed to the room which we had deemed would be the girls'. "Besides, we need to figure out what area of the Contest Puff would actually do best in."

            Amy looked confused as she followed me to the bedroom. "What do you mean by that?"

            "Certain Pokemon like certain things," I replied. "There are different categories that Pokemon can compete in, and they're based on certain types of Pokemon: Cool, Tough, Cute, Smart, and Beauty. These are different from the Elemental Types that moves have, because they are based on how the Pokemon acts - in short, their nature. And, if you can match the nature of the Pokemon with the category of Contest, it gets even easier to win the first prize. That, and there are certain candies you can feed Pokemon in order to do better in these Contests."

            Amy's eyes widened. "Really?"

            I nodded. "In Hoenn, you make candies called PokeBlocks, which have the color of the category your Pokemon is in - red for Cool, pink for Cute, yellow for Tough, green for Smart, and blue for Beauty. Sometimes, though, the colors can mix. In Sinnoh, it's the same sort of thing, only you make things called Poffins. I'm pretty sure there's a building around here that let's you bake them."

            "Do you think we can go sometime soon?" Amy asked. I could tell she was excited at the prospect.

            "Maybe after all this blows over," I suggested. "There's going to be a whole lot more time after that."

            Amy considered my word for a moment, then nodded. "All right. So, what are those ball things that Sonic and the others carry their Pokemon in?"

            "They're called PokeBalls," I explained, dropping my backpack on one of the lower bunks. Going through it, I pulled out a basic PokeBall. "Trainers use them to get around more quickly with the Pokemon they carry, though even then we're limited to six on our belts at a time." I motioned to my own belt, which had my team PokeBalls on it. "However, it is possible to have more than six, but the Pokemon you don't carry with you have to be sent somewhere else. For instance, the PC Box System is for the Pokemon you can't carry with you."

            "Oh, I get it," Amy said, nodding. "But how do you get them in there?"

            I was hit with an idea as I continued to explain. "I'm not quite sure how it works, but I do know that certain balls work on certain Pokemon." I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out a ball with a midnight blue top, on which there was a yellow crescent moon. "This is called a Moon Ball. It can catch Pokemon that evolve with a Moon Stone. Like Puff, for instance." I handed it to Amy. "Just toss it at him, and he'll be put into it. That way, your bond with him will become more cemented."

            Amy nodded, then tossed the Moon Ball at Puff, who braced himself for impact. The ball hit him, then pulled him inside, landing one the ground with a metallic thud. After shaking three times, there was a loud _click_.

            "There," I stated. "Puff is now officially your Pokemon Partner." I picked up the Moon Ball and handed it back to Amy. "To let him out, just press the white button or toss it. To return Puff to it, all you have to say is 'Puff, Return.' Got it?"

            Amy nodded, then tossed the Moon Ball, releasing Puff. "Got it. Thanks for this, Maria."

            I shrugged. "It's not a problem. My stock of PokeBalls is practically limitless." I looked over at a nearby window, catching sight of a fedora moving to avoid my gaze. "I'm getting the feeling that there's someone watching us," I warned Amy. I started to move over to the window, then threw it open and looked around, trying to find the man. All I saw were the buildings of Harthome...and a man on a bench, in a trench coat, reading a newspaper.

            "I'm going out for a little bit," I told Amy. "If I don't come back within two hours, start scouring the city for anything suspicious."

            Amy nodded, as did Puff.

            I slipped out of the Pokemon Center, releasing Leon as I did. The two of us walked over to the man on the bench. As we got closer, I was able to see his features.

            The man had black hair that seemed unkempt, and dark eyes that looked almost like they were midnight blue. Underneath his trench coat, he was wearing a dark shirt which I couldn't quite see because of the way he was sitting. His reading material, a newspaper from the Kanto region, also blocked my view of him.

            I let out a cough, causing the man to look over at me. The look of surprise on his face was quickly replaced by a curious look.

            "Can I help you?" he asked.

            "I was just wondering why you were wearing a trench coat and sitting on your hat," I replied, motioning to the hat brim that was sticking out from underneath him. "The weather's warm enough to go without such heavy clothing, and...a certain person I ran into a few years back dressed a lot like that."

            The man frowned. "Well, I have my reasons for dressing like this. As for the certain person, I'm not him; I've never seen you before, Miss..."

            "The name's Maria," I introduced. "And this is Leon, my Starter."

            "Hey," Leon greeted.

            "We were in our room in the Pokemon Center when I saw a fedora slip away from the windowsill," I continued. "We came out here to see if the whoever it was might still be around."

            The man's frown deepened. "Well, I can assure you, I have been nowhere near the Pokemon Center. Why did you come after me, anyway?"

            "Your newspaper is from Kanto, the day after Team Rocket retreated from the Silph Company a few years ago," I replied simply. "Not exactly up-to-date reading, if you ask me. Plus, as I've already stated, you dress strangely for the climate, and I figured you were hiding something." I pulled the Exploration Badge out of one of the pockets on my jeans and started to polish it a little with my shirt. "I'm not exactly normal, either."

            The man looked me over. "You seem normal enough."

            "Says the man who's been tracking me and my friend's movements ever since Canalave," I replied calmly. Noticing the look of shock on his face, I smirked. "If you ever try to sneak up on me again, I guarantee that things might not end well for you." I showed him the Badge.

            "Why are you showing me this?" the man demanded, folding up his newspaper.

            "Because you already had an idea about who I was originally," I explained. "However, the reason you've been following me is because of the friends I've picked to journey with. Is there any reason that you're interested in them?"

            He glared at me. "They aren't normal. The higher-ups wanted information on them."

            Leon and I exchanged glances. He nodded, guessing at what I was going to try.

            I looked back at the man and smiled. "Would you like to meet them? They're just as comfortable with others as they are with me."

            He looked skeptical. "Why should I trust you?"

            I pocketed the Exploration Badge. "Tox, I know you're hiding under the bench. Why aren't you back at your Swap Cauldron?"

            The Croagunk came out from underneath and stood directly in front of me. "Meh-heh-heh. Things have changed since you left, Maria. You should've expected it."

            I nodded. "I knew things were going to change, but why'd you leave the Swap Cauldron? We all thought that, when you graduated, you'd try and take it with you."

            "Found someone else to look after it. That, and Looker gave me a job that's better than what I had. Meh-heh-heh." Tox jumped up onto the bench. "You oughta go back sometime, see what's changed."

            "Maybe later, Tox. I've got a mountain to climb."

            Looker looked at me in shock. "You can't be serious."

            "I'm completely serious. I've taken out the teams Rocket, Aqua, and Magma, as well as done many other things on the other side of the world. How hard is this going to be?"

            Looker got up from the bench and picked up his squashed fedora. "Do you have any idea what they've done?" he asked, shaking his hat at me.

            "Exactly why I want you to meet my friends," I replied. Grabbing his arm, I pulled him in the direction of the Pokemon Center. "Come on."

            Looker shook off my grip. "Why don't you have your friends come out here?" he asked.

            "Mobians aren't exactly considered normal in this age."

            Looker and Tox exchanged glances. "Mobians?" Looker repeated.

            "That's what they call themselves," I explained. "A lot of people, however, know them better as PokeMorphs."

            That got Looker's attention.

            "PokeMorphs?" he repeated. "That's not possible! They're extinct!"

            "And also have been pulled forward in time," I replied. "Now, are you going to meet them or not?" I was really getting annoyed with this guy and his reluctance to come with me.

            "Meh-heh-heh," Tox muttered. "I'm curious. Especially if they already know."

            "They do, Tox," I confirmed. "They're aware that I used to be a Vulpix."

            Looker blinked in confusion, but that quickly past. "All right, Maria; I'll go with you to see your friends. But no funny business."

            "No funny business," I agreed. I turned around to face the Pokemon Center, then asked, "Are you going to put your fedora back on? Or are you planning on using it as a seat cushion later?"

            Looker chuckled nervously. "I think I can go without it for now, thanks."

            Looker and Tox then walked back with Leon and me to the Pokemon Center. Not long after we had gotten inside, Scarlet came over with Zap on her shoulder.

            "There you are," she said. "Amy said you went out to check on something."

            I nodded. "Scarlet, you mind getting everyone together in one of the booths? I think it's about time we had dinner."

            Scarlet nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sure. I suppose that your friend is going to be joining us?"

            I nodded. "Yeah. He'll explain himself once we get everyone together."

            "All right, then. Meet you in the mess hall, then."

            The Ranger-turned-Mobian walked off, Looker staring after her in surprise.

            "That can't be..." he murmured. He looked over at me. "Is that Scarlet?"

            "If you mean, Top Ranger Scarlet Igel, then yeah," I confirmed. "The Pachirisu on her shoulder is Zap."

            "She's the Ranger who vanished over three months ago, right?" Tox asked.

            "Yeah," Leon said. "And she's one of the three who's gone through the transformation process."

            Looker looked at him sharply. I guessed that he probably understood what Leon had said. "Three?!"

            Leon nodded. "Yeah. Her little sister and that other Ranger... What was it, Keith?"

            Looker became pale. "Oh, dear."

            "We'll explain in further detail once we get together with the others," I told him. "Come on."

            We walked into the cafeteria and found Sonic, Sally, Knuckles, and Tails already sitting at a decently sized table in the corner of the area. Nearby, their Pokemon were eating already.

            "Hey, guys," I greeted as Looker examined each of the Mobians from where he stood.

            "Hey, Maria," Sonic replied calmly. "Who are these guys?"

            "The Croagunk's name is Tox. He used to be in Wigglytuff's Guild, and has since graduated," I introduced. "The man in the trench coat is Looker."

            "What kind of a name is Looker?" Knuckles asked. "Seems odd for a human."

            "It's my code name," Looker replied defensively. "I'm a member of the International Police."

            "International Police?" Tails repeated with a frown. "Is that anything like G.U.N.?"

            Now it was Looker's turn to frown. "I'm not familiar with that."

            "It's short for Guardian Unit of Nations," Sally explained. "They're a group of people who protect the humans in our time from outside threats. The Republic of Acorn has worked with them on multiple occasions."

            "Oh," Looker said. "And you four are...?"

            "I'm Sally Acorn," Sally introduced. "My Pokemon Partner is Nicole, the Kirlia over there."

            "I'm Miles, but everyone calls me Tails," Tails stated. "I'm partnered up with Gear, the Klang."

            "The name's Knuckles," Knuckles added. "Vent, the Lucario, is my partner."

            "And I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic finished. "Paul, the Pidgeotto, is my Pokemon Partner."

            "Hey, guys," Amy greeted as she and Scarlet came over with Zap, Puff, and Zel. "Who's this, Maria?"

            "The name's Looker," Looker replied. "I'm with the International Police. We're deployed all over the world, investigating any disturbances that might show up."

            "And you're investigating Team Galactic," Scarlet guessed.

            Looker nodded. "Maria told me that you're the Ranger who vanished a month ago."

            Scarlet nodded. "Yeah; that was me. I've already let Hastings and my parents know about the situation."

            "You are aware that your sister and another Ranger have vanished, as well?"

            "Keith's Buizel is standing right next to me, y'know."

            "Hi!" Amy greeted, suddenly changing the subject. "The name's Amy, and this is Puff, my Pokemon Partner."

            The Jigglypuff waved from his perch on the hedgehog's head.

            "How about you guys go eat with the others?" Scarlet suggested.

            The three Pokemon nodded, then dove for the Pokemon food bowls that were unclaimed. I caught Leon looking hungrily over there.

            "Go on," I said. Grabbing my other PokeBalls, I released the rest of my team - including Jirachi. Handing the Legendary a sack of Apples, I told them, "Don't eat them all quickly, now. I don't want any stomachaches the night before we climb Mt. Coronet."

            The team nodded, then went off and joined the others.

            Looker gave me a look of surprise. "Where did you get Jirachi?"

            "He lives in the Wish Cave, on the other side of the world," I replied. "Thanks to my Guild, all the Legendaries are Honorary Members of both my Guild and my team; they can join me anytime they want. Right, Tox?"

            Tox nodded in confirmation.

            "So, why do we have someone from the government here?" Scarlet asked as we sat down.

            "He's been trailing us because he wanted to figure out more about you guys," I replied. "I'm gonna go order. What do you guys want?"

            It turned out that pretty much everyone wanted at least one chili dog, except for Amy, who said she wanted an apple tart.

            "Okay then." I gave a nod. "I'll be back in a Sonic Second."

**Scarlet's POV**

            I looked at Looker and the Croagunk as they sat down. The IP agent looked a little nervous, watching all of us. Personally, I can't blame him - we're things he hasn't seen before. Or, at least, look as such.

            "So, what is it you want to know?" Sally asked, attempting to break the ice.

            "Pretty much everything," Looker replied. "The higher-ups want to know all sorts of things about you."

            "I guess we'll start off with the easy stuff, then," Sonic remarked. "First: we're not Pokemon, so we can't be caught."

            "I can tell you're not Pokemon, but why do you think you can't be caught?" Looker inquired.

            "Your PokeBalls are designed for Pokemon," Tails replied. "We have some human DNA in our systems, as well as other DNA that isn't Pokemon DNA."

            "You're part human?" Looker repeated, surprised.

            "Long story short, organic advancement kinda took place twice," Tails explained. "There was a time when we didn't exist, and then we did exist after everything else was annihilated. We can give you the complete history, if you really want it."

            "Maybe later," Looker stated. "I'd heard that each of you are capable of...things Pokemon are capable of."

            Sonic smirked. "You mean our abilities, right?"

            "If that's what you call them."

            The hedgehog pointed at himself. "I've got super speed."

            Knuckles motioned to the spikes on his knuckles. "Thanks to my connection to the Chaos Force, I can glide using my dreadlocks, use super strength, and summon projectiles made of Chaos Energy."

            Looker looked confused. "Chaos Energy?"

            "Some sort of force that Mobians have access to," I explained. "There are these seven jewels, too, called Chaos Emeralds, even though six of them don't look like regular emeralds and they're cut like diamonds."

            Looker looked less confused, but he was still a bit unsure. "All right, then." He looked at Tails, Amy, and Sally in turn. "And you three?"

            "My IQ is higher than average, and I can fly using my two tails," Tails explained.

            "I've always got my hammer," Amy added, grinning.

            "I don't really have any powers," Sally admitted.

            "But she is the one who comes up with all the attack plans over the years," Sonic remarked.

            Looker frowned. "You mean that all of you worked together as a team?"

            "Not just us," Tails replied. "There were Freedom Fighter groups all over the world. And each and every one of us had trouble with the same person. Eggman."

            Looker raised an eyebrow. "Eggman? What kind of a name is that?"

            "His real name is Ivo Robotnik, but everybody calls him Eggman because of his shape," Sally explained. "He kept trying to take over the world in one way or another - all of which involved machines."

            "And turning people into robots," I added.

            "Yeah, that too."

            Looker became surprised. "Turn people into robots?" he repeated. "That can't be possible!"

            "Believe it, buddy," Sonic replied. "It happened to my whole family, and me and Sal got it - twice! Not a pleasant experience."

            "If I'm remembering correctly, wasn't Eggman a robot at one point, too?" Maria asked as she came over. The amount of food she had managed to carry was quite surprising. She started to place the ordered dishes in front of the Mobians, then gave Tox an Apple that she had bought, as well.

            Tails nodded. "Yeah; he could robotosize with a touch, too. But he couldn't after the Bem were through with him." He started to eat his Chili Dogs.

            "The who?" Looker and I asked.

            "Aliens," Sonic replied simply. "They found a way to not only turn everyone back to normal, and gave us an immunity, too. At least, until the Death Egg Mark II..."

            Looker became a little interested. "It seems that you have been through a lot," he remarked.

            "Over the past what, eleven, twelve years?" Sonic asked. "Yeah."

            Looker, Tox, and I looked at the cobalt hedgehog in shock.

            "That long?" I asked.

            "It's only eleven if you don't count what happened to me up in space." Sonic smirked. "I still count it as only a few weeks."

            "But it was supposed to be a year," Maria pointed out.

            "On Mobius," Sonic reminded her.

            Tox cocked his head and chittered something I couldn't quite make out because of the speed of his species' language.

            "Of course that was the name of this planet!" Sonic replied. "And before you say anything else, the only reason I understand PokeSpeak is because of a device I got fused with my nervous system. Thank the D'Novulans for that."

            Looker looked at Maria, who was finishing off her Chili Dog just as Sonic was starting to devour his. "You're still set on climbing Mt. Coronet, aren't you?"

            Maria nodded, then licked her fingers of the chili. "I've done this sort of thing before, Looker. Surely you've heard from the Exploration Guilds about the Temporal Tower, Spacial Rift, and Dark Crater Dungeons, right? Those are some of the tougher of the Dungeons in existence, and Pika and have been through all three - two of them twice. A mountain is going to be simple enough."

            "Have you considered what's waiting for you at the top?" Looker frowned.

            "Oh, yeah," Maria recalled. "Cyrus said he was planning on creating a new world from up there - one without spirit. I think I can handle whatever he throws at me. I come from a dark future and was almost wiped out of the timeline, remember?"

            Tox nodded, then said something that sounded like, "She's got a point."

            Looker sighed. "I'm aware of your exploits, but what you said about Cyrus is another kettle of Magikarp. If he's capable of causing such a catastrophe, you'd have to be very foolish to go up there."

            "Foolish, or confident?" Maria looked Looker in the eyes and said, "I've faced down all of the Legendaries - besides the ones that most likely exist in Unova - in the form of a Vulpix, and won. Cyrus is nothing compared to all that."

            There was silence around the table as Looker stared at Maria.

            Finally, the IP agent let out a sigh. "Very well. I won't stop you. However, I will be climbing up the mountain before you." He got up from the table, then turned to face me. "One more thing. How is it? Being in that form, I mean."

            "It was rather uncomfortable, at first," I admitted. "But I think that I'm starting to come to terms with it. I mean, being a Ranger is what I always wanted to be, but now...I don't know what I really want. These abilities that I now have...they've changed things for me."

            Looker nodded. "I thought as much. Have you run into anyone else in your situation?"

            "Keith," I replied sadly. "But Cyrus calls him Midnight, and he's under his control."

            Looker seemed to share my sympathy, because he smiled sadly. "According to one of our moles on the inside, Saturn added something to the process that caused this mind control. We have no idea what he added, however, because our mole was found out before he could report back. You have no idea how his wife reacted."

            "Probably the way my parents reacted when I vanished, and then Magenta," I remarked.

            "Or much worse," Maria added. She looked at Looker. "When are you planning on leaving, exactly?"

            "Before dawn tomorrow," the IP agent replied. "Depending on how fast you are, we may meet before we reach the summit."

            "We'll see," Sonic agreed. He let out a yawn. "I'm gonna hit the sack. By the way, Looker, we confronted the old man himself; he said Saturn used a piece of something called the Red Chain."

            Looker paled considerably. "I must go now, then!" he declared. "Let's go, Tox!" He turned and ran out of the building, followed by Maria's old friend.

            Once they were gone, Sonic was true to his word. He zipped off for bed. Tails and Knuckles, along with their Pokemon and Zel, followed him not long after. Eventually, the rest of us went to our room with our Pokemon, crawling into the beds we had claimed earlier in the day.

            I was probably the last of us to fall asleep. I was thinking about what I had told Looker earlier about my transformation. Had he asked me the same question the same day that I had been transformed, I would have said that I wanted to be human again in a heartbeat. However, now that I have met others like me - aka Sonic and the others - I'm not really sure whether I want to change back or not. It's strange.

            When I did fall asleep, I had strange dreams about egg-shaped men, robotic hedgehogs, and green aliens with six arms and technology that Hastings would probably have a field day with.


	34. Chapter 34

            Cyrus stopped the group of grunts in front of a mural on the cave wall. The carving, which depicted six Pokemon of various sizes, was very ancient and beautiful.

            It was also in his way.

            "Tear this down!" the Galactic boss ordered a pair of grunts. "The rest of you, spread out. I'm expecting opposition to arrive by morning."

            "Yes, sir!" the two grunts replied. They ran over to the mural with a pickaxe and a hammer each and started to knock it down. A few more ran over to help, and within five minutes, the mural was lying in pieces on the ground. The crowd of grunts then ran through the opening, picking stations at different intervals, so that they could be ready for any intruders. The Commanders, however, set up camp at the entrance into the deeper part of the mountain.

            As Jupiter was overseeing the pitching of her and Mars' tent, she caught sight of something shining in the earth. Getting down on her hands and knees, she dug up the object, which was a strange, yellow gem, cut like a diamond.

            Saturn caught sight of her digging. "What, exactly, are you doing, Jupiter?" he asked.

            "Have a look at this," she replied, giving him the gem. She got up and dusted off her pants. "Do you have any idea what this gem is, Saturn? I've never seen anything like it."

            Saturn examined the gem, running his finger along the edges. "I don't believe I have, either. However, the shape of the gem is familiar." He turned and walked over to Charon, who was overseeing the pitching of his own tent.

            "Jupiter found another one, Grandfather," Saturn reported. He turned the yellow gem over to his grandfather, who took it out and compared it to a gray one, which he pulled out of his jacket pocket.

            Charon nodded slowly. "We have a match," he declared. "Now, our machine is going to be even stronger." He disappeared inside the tent, which had been fully erected while he had been looking at the Emerald, and returned a moment later, both of the strange gems hidden. "According to the legends, there are seven altogether. We have two, which means that there are five others somewhere in the world. For now, however, two will be more than enough for our objective." He walked off to examine the cave wall a little more carefully, leaving his grandson behind.

            Saturn shook his head, then turned to look at the progress his own tent was making.

            Cyrus, like Charon, had already had his tent completed before everyone else. And, as it was expected, he had his tent set up on a flat piece of rock above everyone else's. He surveyed all that lay below him before disappearing into his tent, most likely to succumb to slumber.

            Saturn let out a sigh as his tent was finally completed. He looked around, making sure that the floodlights had been set in place for the night, before turning in himself.

            Mars was having a bit of a harder time being in the cave. She had never really been the camping type of girl, and being "outside" and vulnerable to any attacks that could come there way made her even more nervous. Jupiter took note of her fellow Commander's anxiousness.

            "Relax, Mars," Jupiter stated calmly. "The Pokemon around here are used to the dark; the floodlights will keep them away. Now, come on; let's turn in before you get any ideas."

            Mars nodded, sighing as she did so. "All right, Jupiter. I just wish we could get this over with now, when no one will bother us."

            The two vanished into their tent.

            Once all of the grunts had cleared out and were standing guard at their posts, Charon returned to the campsite and pulled out what looked like a golden ring. It increased its size considerably, becoming almost the size of Charon. The old man looked through it, not seeing the cave wall in front of him, but rather someplace dark. The only thing that really showed up were a pair of perfect circles that looked like they were made of glass.

            "Well?" a voice asked impatiently.

            "Patience, Doctor," Charon stated calmly. "You shall be rescued soon enough."

            "Good; I'm becoming very worried in here, you know. Make sure that those buffoons you have befriended get me out of here before going through with their plan. I don't want to have my life end here."

            "That all depends on whether or not Maria and her companions pull through and arrive here before then." Charon pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "Just remember - things here have changed here."

            Julian chuckled. "I remember...Finitivus. Just get that creature to release me."

            Charon crossed his arms, annoyed. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that. I am Charon, now."

            "And I've given up robotics!" Julian retorted. "Face facts, Finitivus - neither of us are truly going to change our habits." The figure seemed to shift slightly. "They're coming back. Make sure that this thing is done tomorrow, or I'm going to be finished!"

            "Relax, Julian," Charon stated calmly. "You're lucky we can even talk like this through my Seer Ring. Besides, I have information that is much more disheartening."

            "Oh? Don't tell me you're having trouble, Finitivus." The figure seemed amused.

            "You wouldn't think it funny if there was an angry echidna breathing down your neck like a Magmortar, do you?" Charon asked. When the figure didn't answer, he stated, "I thought not. Your little problem is here, too, and he's made friends with the Trainer who has been giving us problems over the past few days."

            There was a gasp on the other end. "He can't be there! It's not his timeline!"

            "He is," Charon confirmed. "Him, the echidna, the fox, the two other hedgehogs, and his girlfriend are all here. The skunk is wandering around, as well, but he is allied with us presently."

            Julian let out a growl. "When you find him, get him with that little invention of yours. I want to see him and the other suffer."

            Charon smirked. "With pleasure, Julian. However, I am saving him for last - you have always wanted to get him yourself, correct?"

            The circles bobbed up and down, signifying nodding. "I thank you for being considerate, Finitivus."

            "Likewise...Eggman."

            Charon shrunk the ring down to its original size and placed it back inside it's pocket. He then slipped inside his tent, got into the sleeping bag, and fell asleep, a rather evil grin on his face.

**Spacial Break**

            Eggman watched as the ring shrank and disappeared into nothingness, his composure slipping rapidly. He had been lucky that he had been left alone down here to think, but after what he had seen outside, what was the point? An entire world, taken over by this darkness...Ivo had tried to deny that this world was what he had envisioned, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to him that there was no way for his plan to end up in anything better. Forcing himself to concentrate on thoughts of what he could do once he was rescued, Eggman started to wonder what his strange adversary was doing...

**Spacial Break**

            Shadow glared over at the campsite which, thanks to the floodlights, wasn't all that hard to find. He looked back at his companions, who were setting up a camp of their own, only less flashy.

            "Charon is Finitivus," he reported, coming over to the line of sleeping bags against the cave wall.

            Brendan looked confused. "Who?"

            "A white echidna who wants to destroy the world," Magenta explained. When the two boys gave her funny looks, she explained, "Shadow gave me a couple history lessons to complement my Chaos Energy lessons."

            Black nodded, understanding. "So, he's a Mobian who was forced into the form of a human, then." He frowned. "But that doesn't make sense! I mean, Sonic and the others weren't turned into humans."

            "Maybe the way he got here was different," Shadow suggested. "Also, I managed to hear only parts of the conversation he had with the man on the other side of the Seer Ring. He's not the only villain here."

            Magenta cocked her head, confused. "Who else is here?"

            "Eggman."

            The silence was so loud, you could almost hear it.

            "You can't be serious," Brendan said.

            "I'm completely serious," Shadow replied calmly. "He seems to be trapped somewhere, as well, and Finitivus seems to be his only way out. Also, he's got two Chaos Emeralds."

            "Two?!" Black repeated in a loud whisper.

            "So? We have two," Magenta pointed out.

            "Meaning that there are three left somewhere," Shadow stated calmly. "Make that two - I'm guessing that Sonic and his friends have found at least one already." He looked at the group of kids. "Which means that they could be anywhere on this planet. So they're going to be minimal help against Team Galactic. Especially if they have two already."

            Magenta sat down on her designated sleeping bag, which was a purple color. "Where do you think the others are? Or Scarlet?"

            "Your sister is most likely still with Maria and the others," Shadow stated. "As for where they are at present...I'm not sure. If G.U.N. were still operational, I could ask them about their whereabouts."

            "Or, I can call Maria," Brendan remarked, pulling out his emerald green PokeGear.

            Shadow shook his head. "Not recommended. They might have radio scramblers that could pick up anything on our frequency. I'm not taking any chances."

            Black frowned, then nodded slowly. "I see your point. And if Team Galactic is here, Maria is probably not far behind. We should be seeing her work by morning, most likely."

            Magenta crawled into her sleeping bag, Drake lying down on her chest. "Well, I'm gonna be fully rested for when they get here," the girl stated. With that, she fell asleep.

            Drake closed his eyes, curled up, and started to snore. Loudly.

            Black and Brendan looked at each other, then at Shadow.

            "How is that little guy able to snore like that, anyway?" Black asked.

            Shadow shrugged. "Get used to it and get some sleep. We'll follow them in the morning." He got into his black sleeping bag, Snarl lying down on the rock floor next to him.

            Brendan and Black looked at each other, shrugged, and got into their sleeping bags as well, falling asleep as soon as their ears were covered to muffle Drake's snoring.

**Spacial Break**

            A yellow mouse with red circles on his cheeks and a lightning bolt tail sat outside, watching the sunrise. A Roserade and a Rapidash was standing next to him on the cliff, the entrance to their home behind them.

            "Do you think she's all right?" the Roserade asked, looking at the Pikachu.

            The Pikachu nodded. "Yeah; she's probably fine. If I know her, she's going to be fighting them soon enough." He looked over at the Roserade. "Rose, if anything happens to her, we'll know. Team Spirit is watching Mt. Coronet, and they'll come to her aid if anything happens. Plus..." The Pikachu pulled out a Badge that was identical to Maria's, except that it had a yellow gem rather than a red one at its center. "I'll know if anything goes wrong. You two don't have to worry too much."

            The Rapidash let out a sigh. "I kind of wish that I could be by her side, but I promised WildFire that I'd teach her how to use Flame Wheel today."

            Pikachu nodded. "It's good that the Ponyta has someone to look after her, FireMane. You should be proud of your adoptive daughter, having come this far."

            FireMane chuckled. "Don't flatter me, Pika. I'm lucky to have her at my side, after what happened to her real family..."

            Pika nodded. "You don't have to go any further. You two make a great team, and I doubt that there's any pair of Fire-Types that could do better."

            Down at the beach below, there was a sudden flash of light that caught the three Pokemon's attention.

            Pika turned his head sharply, looking down at the beach. "Looks like we have another arrival," he noted. He looked over at the others. "Let's go."

            The three ran away from the cliff and into the town, where the shops were still closed, seeing as the shopkeepers hadn't woken up yet. When they reached the crossroads, they ran down an trail, which led to the beach. There, collapsed on the sand, they found...

            "A Luxray!" Rose exclaimed.

            The large, black-furred Pokemon let out a groan. "Rose? Is that you?" The Luxray started to get up slowly from the sand.

            "Sparks?" Rose asked, looking the Pokemon over. "You've reached your final stage?"

            Sparks looked over at Rose. "It looks like you have, too. Where am I?"

            "On the beach, near Treasure Town," Pika explained. "You're Sparks, right? One of Maria's Pokemon?"

            Sparks nodded. "Yeah; you're Pika, I'm guessing?"

            Pika nodded. "Maria sent you here for training, didn't she?"

            Sparks nodded again. "She told me to ask for Dazz and train under him."

            FireMane frowned. "The Zapdos? He went back home a few days ago to make sure things were still all right. He should be coming back either late today or early tomorrow."

            "However, we do have many other Electric-Types that you can train with," Pika added.

            "That's kind of the problem...I need to regain my ability to use Electric-Type moves," Sparks explained. "That's why Maria told me to ask for Dazz - he can help me regain what I've lost."

            Pika blinked in surprise, then nodded, understanding. "Dazz isn't the only one who can do that, you know. When the others start waking up, I'm going to take you to see Donner. He can help you out until Dazz gets back."

            Sparks frowned. "Donner? Which Pokemon is that?"

            "Why, Raikou, of course!" Pika replied with a grin. His tail suddenly twitched, and he looked up at the sun, which had now managed to clear the horizon. "FireMane, Rose, I'm counting on you guys to show Sparks around."

            "Why don't you?" Rose asked. "You're her elemental Type, after all."

            Pika shook his head. "You guys know her better. Besides...I'm expected elsewhere today." He started glowing brightly. "Tell my family that I'm off...visiting a friend." With that, the leader of the PokeExplore Guild vanished in a flash of light.

            Sparks and the other three looked at the spot where he had been standing in surprise.

            "Does that happen often?" Sparks asked.


	35. Chapter 35

            Scarlet woke up when she felt a pressure on her chest. She opened her eyes...to find an Electric Mouse Pokemon on her chest.

            "Morning," he said cheerily...in English.

            Scarlet let out a grunt of surprise. "Who're you? And how can you speak English?"

            "As one of the co-founders of a Guild, I have the ability to speak to humans without the language barrier," the Pikachu explained. He looked her over more closely. "What exactly are you, anyway? You aren't human, but you speak their language."

            "I used to be human," Scarlet replied. She started to sit up in bed, forcing the Pikachu to move to the end of the bed. "But Team Galactic turned me into a PokeMorph, or Mobian." A thought then occurred to her. "Did you say you were the co-founder of a Guild?"

            The Pikachu nodded.

            "Then you're the one Maria told us about a few days back. Pika, was it?"

            "Yup! What's your name?"

            "Scarlet," Scarlet replied. She slipped out of the upper bunk and took note that Zap was still lying on her pillow. "Zap, wake up. We have a guest."

            The Pachirisu let out a yawn, then looked over at Pika. He got up and walked over to him, saying something that might translate into a groggy "Hi."

            Pika made his way around Zap, traversing the mattress rather easily on his hind legs. "Hmm... You seem like a strong Pokemon, Zap. Judging from the way you hold yourself...I'd guess that you're Level 53 now, right?"

            Zap looked surprised, then nodded.

            Behind Scarlet, someone let out a laugh. The Ranger turned to see Maria coming out of the bathroom wearing a simple red T-shirt, an orange jacket, and jeans. Her hair was also in a ponytail that went through the back of her hat. She had a huge grin on her face.

            "It's good to see that you guys have hit off so well," Maria remarked. She looked around, noticing that Amy and Sally were already gone. "Something tells me we slept in a bit too late today. Let's go and find the others."

            Pika nodded in agreement and jumped off the upper bunk, landing on Maria's shoulder. Zap also jumped off, landing on Scarlet's. Then the group walked out of the sleeping quarters.

**Scarlet's POV**

            We found Sonic and the others in the mess hall, eating breakfast with their Pokemon at one of the bigger tables.

            "About time you guys got up," Sonic remarked. He swallowed the Chili Dog he had been eating. "We've been waiting for about an hour."

            Maria chuckled. "Sorry about that. I wanted to summon an old friend from the other side of the world." She motioned to Pika, who was still on her shoulder. "Guys, meet Pika. Pika, these are Sonic, Sally, Knuckles, Tails, Amy, Paul, Vent, Puff, Nicole, Gear, and Zel, my present traveling companions."

            "You're the Pokemon who's been running that Guild while Maria's gone, right?" Knuckles asked.

            Pika nodded. "But my wife, Volt, is running it right now, while I'm here to help."

            Everyone except Sonic stared at him.

            "Did you just speak our language?" Sally asked.

            "As I explained to Scarlet earlier, as a leader of a Guild, I can speak your language so as to avoid the barriers it can cause," Pika explained.

            Sonic looked a little surprised. "Really? Huh. For a moment, there, I just thought you were speaking the Pokemon language, since you are one, after all."

            When Pika gave the Mobian a confused look, Sonic explained further, "I've got this device in my head that let's me understand all languages. I can't speak those languages, though."

            Pika blinked in surprise, then nodded. "O.K., I get it. So, where are we going?"

            "Mt. Coronet," Maria replied. She pulled out her Town Map, put it on the table, and pointed to the tall peak in the center of Sinnoh. "Think of it as a Dungeon, Pokemon Trainer style. Just follow my lead in there and you should do fine."

            "And, in this place, I'm technically one of the Pokemon you're training, right?"

            Maria nodded. "Right. Here's the plan: we're going to split into different teams and make our way up the mountain, using different paths from the same entrance. So long as you don't use a simple path, you should go up the mountain like the rest of us. Now, since there are seven of us, we can make one group of three and two groups of two, not truly counting the Pokemon, which will go with their respective Trainers automatically."

            Pika looked surprised. "This is going to be no ordinary Dungeon," he noted.

            "This is a Trainer Dungeon, not an Exploration Dungeon," Maria agreed. "I was considering having Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails as a group, but I'm not quite sure whether or not Sonic and Sally wanted to be a group together."

            The two Mobians exchanged glances, considering what Maria was saying.

            "Y'know, I'd kind of like to do that, for old times' sake," Sonic remarked. Sally nodded in agreement.

            "All right, then," Pika stated. "Then Sonic and Sally can go together as a group, and Knuckles, Tails, and Amy can go together as a group."

            The Mobians nodded.

            "Which leaves me and Scarlet, with you, Pika, to go up as the last group," Maria finished. "We'll leave as soon as you're ready."

            Sonic smirked. "Paul and I are always ready," he stated. The Pidgeotto nodded in agreement.

            Nicole moved over to where Sally was sitting. _"We have been prepared ever since we woke up,"_ the Kirlia stated. The other Mobians nodded in agreement.

            "Very well, then," Maria stated. "Let's get going."

**Spacial Break**

            Shadow awoke with a start. His trained senses had told him that someone was nearby...someone who might be a threat. He slid out of the sleeping bag quietly, looking around for the intruder.

            Snarl stirred in his sleep, then opened his eyes and sat up. His nose started to twitch, and he let out a low growl.

            "Where?" Shadow asked the Mighteyna.

            The Pokemon continued sniffing, then snuck forward, stopping at a low-hanging stalagmite. He slipped around the large rock-icicle, then pounced on the figure. Snarl then dragged back around the struggling intruder, using one of his paws to cover their mouth to keep them from alerting anyone.

            Shadow let out a gasp of surprise. "Rouge!"

            The white bat glared at him, then pushed Snarl's paw away. "Did you have to sic your dog on me?" she demanded.

            "I didn't know whether or not you might have been a Team Galactic member," the hedgehog replied. "What are you doing here?"

            "Investigating," the bat replied slyly.

            "Investigating what? And where's Beryl? He's usually with you."

            "That's what I'm investigating," the Mobian stated, annoyed. "We're working for an organization called the International Police; they sent Beryl into Team Galacitc's HQ in order to find out what exactly they were doing. But...they found him. I've been tracking their movements since, trying to find him."

            "And the Pokemon you're bonded with?" Shadow asked. He motioned to Snarl as an example.

            "Swoon, my Swoobat," Rouge replied. She pointed to the section of cave ceiling directly above he head.

            Shadow looked up, catching sight of the strange Pokemon with a heart for a nose and a long, pink tail that ended in a pair of pincers.

            "I see," Shadow murmured. "It seems to suit you."

            "Just as yours suits you," Rouge replied calmly.

            "His name is Snarl," Shadow stated calmly. He motioned to the Galactic campsite, where the tents were still erected. "They have two of the Chaos Emeralds."

            Rouge nodded. "I'm aware of that, too."

            "And the old man is Dr. Finitivus, though he is presently known as Charon."

            Rouge bristled. "He's here?!"

            Shadow nodded. "And he's in contact with Dr. Eggman. If we're going to stop them, we'll have to move quickly."

            Rouge nodded. "Right. Who are your friends, by the way?"

            "You'll see," the black hedgehog replied. He walked over and gently shook Drake awake, while Snarl nudged Black.

            Drake let out a low growl as he opened his eyes, but when he saw Shadow he stopped. The Pokemon then woke up Magenta by giving her head a gentle Headbutt.

            Brendan sat up as Snarl started to move toward him. He looked around, wide awake.

            "Again, I thank my internal alarm clock and Sceptile's Leaf Blades in the morning," Brendan muttered. He caught sight of Rouge. "Who's this, Shadow?"

            "The name's Rouge," Rouge introduced herself. "Government spy."

            "And thief," Shadow muttered. He grabbed the green and blue Emeralds from somewhere on her person and gave them to Magenta. "I would appreciate it if you didn't try that again, Rouge."

            "And why do you say that?" Rouge asked calmly.

            "Drake will bite your head off if you get too close to me," Magenta replied coolly. She placed the two Emeralds into her jacket pockets. "Just a warning."

            Rouge looked down at the small Dragon-Type. "He doesn't look all that dangerous," she noted. She got down in front of him and smirked, bobbing Drake on the nose.

            Drake promptly bit her finger in return, causing Rouge to retreat a good distance.

            Black chuckled. "That Bagon is very protective of his Trainer," he noted.

            "Well, I did save his life from a rampaging Magmar," Magenta recalled.

            Voices were suddenly heard from the Galactic campsite as tents were being pulled down. Brendan moved away from his sleeping bag and looked over in the camp's direction.

            "We'd better get moving if we're going to keep them from doing whatever it is they're planning," he warned. He quickly rolled up his sleeping bag, then did Shadow's, while Brendan and Magenta did theirs. When he was done, Shadow used Chaos Control to warp them to wherever he had summoned them from.

            "You're still using that Pocket Zone?" Rouge asked.

            "It's useful," Shadow replied with a shrug. He turned and watched as the Galactic Commanders left through the opening in the destroyed mural.

            Once they were all gone, the black hedgehog nodded to the others. "Let's go. And be swift and silent; if Maria's going to be coming after us, she'll be expecting a large amount of those goons to fight."

            "We could each take down at least one," Brendan pointed out. "Surely five grunts won't be missed."

            Rouge and Shadow exchanged glances, Rouge's was a more pleading look.

            Shadow sighed. "Very well. But only one."

            With that, the group followed the Galactics into the hole behind the mural.

**Spacial Break**

            Charon chuckled darkly to himself as they continued through the tunnels. Within a few mere hours, they would be at the summit, and his true plan would come to fruition...

            Charon stopped laughing when Saturn gave him a strange look. "Nothing more than a memory," he said quickly.

            Saturn rolled his eyes, then went back to concentrating on the road ahead.

            There was a low growl from the prisoner, who Midnight was carrying like a sack of potatoes.

            "You're not going to get away with this - any of you," the captive stated menacingly, his green eyes glaring at any Galactic members in sight. Mostly, the dark red echidna would look St. John in the face and bare his teeth. He couldn't do much more than that, however, because he was bound up tightly by thick cords of rope.

            The skunk chuckled, holding tight to the pink PokeBall that had been on the echidna's person. "Really, Beryl. Do you think you can actually scare me like that? When I'm surrounded by allies?" He got as close to the echidna's face as possible without bumping noses together as they walked. "You can't win, boy. Even your allies have abandoned you."

            Beryl looked away and, for a fleeting moment, saw a flash of white fur somewhere above. The skunk also turned to look, but the whatever-it-was wasn't there.

            "Never be too sure of yourself," Beryl stated calmly. "And don't call me a boy. If we compared years of training in the Twilight Zone - Oh! You haven't been there at all, while I was there for 500 years. I could be your great-great-grandfather, skunk. But, personally, age doesn't matter to me anymore. Now, I have a chance to live an actual life, rather than in an army for the rest of my days. What have you to say to that, skunk?"

            St. John was speechless. He hadn't heard anything like this out of Beryl before. In fact, this was the first time he had experienced anything close to a proper conversation with the echidna. To be trapped in another Zone for 500 Mobian years without aging...it was unthinkable. But, then again, it was also unthinkable concerning what Finitivus - no, Charon - had said to him on the day that they had met...

            **Memory Break**

            _Geoffrey stumbled into the building, panting as his pursuers ran in the direction they'd thought he'd gone. He was tired and confused. One minute, he'd been out in Soumerica, searching for his wife, who had been missing ever since before Naugus had taken over. The Freedom Fighters had allowed him at least that much freedom, but as soon as he would have returned to New Mobotropolis, he would have to face the court for his crimes. But now...now things were different. He wasn't in Soumerica - he may not even be on Mobius anymore, judging from how the Overlanders had looked at him._

_While Geoffrey was thinking about this, a figure about his size approached from the shadows. It said, "You seem lost, Geoffrey St. John. Is something wrong?"_

_The skunk turned to look at the figure, crossbow at the ready. "Who's there?" the skunk demanded._

_"Why, no one more than your fellow Mobian," the figure replied, coming into the light._

_Geoffrey frowned. "You're no Mobian; you're an Overlander."_

_The figure chuckled. "I am well aware of my transformation, Ixis Apprentice. In all actuality, I am Dr. Finitivus."_

_The Mobian skunk let out a gasp, staggering backward. "That's impossible! Dr. Finitivus is a white echidna. You are an Overlander."_

_"The technical term here, my boy, is human," Finitivus stated flatly. "As for your doubts, what would you say if I told you that Naugus was very foolish in trying to resurrect his old cult, even after what that Mammoth and the pesky silver hedgehog did?"_

_Geoffrey stiffened. "Impossible... How did you turn into a human?"_

_Finitivus shrugged. "It is, I believe, incomprehensible at the moment. However, I am lucky to be in this form, since I can blend in to any crowd easily. You, on the other hand..." The Mobian-turned-human motioned to the skunk's appearance for emphasis. "My boy, you attract a lot of attention, especially wearing that." He pointed out the Mobian's combat outfit._

_"Do you have any place to hide?" Geoffrey demanded._

_"I have something better..."_

**Memory Break**

            Geoffrey sighed at the memory. He had been lucky to be found by Finitivus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like knowing how characters get into the positions they are by the time we hit their part of the story. In the past, that meant I included a lot of flashbacks. Now, I do things a little bit differently.


	36. Chapter 36

            Sonic struck down the grunt quickly, using a move that had been called the Ax Kick in some circles. He didn't really name his moves, and he didn't care if others named them. Right now, these bad guys were all that mattered - them, and their plans being stopped.

            Sally looked at the grunt in front of her nervously, then told Nicole to hit his Golbat with a Psychic attack. Even in the short amount of time she had fought against these people, the computer-turned-Pokemon had strengthened incredibly.

            "It's only a matter of time before Nicole reaches reaches her final stage," Paul murmured to Sonic. He let loose a Twister, sending the Croagunk in front of him spinning into its Trainer. "I think I'm getting close, too."

            "We'll have to see," Sonic muttered. He looked over at Sally. "You doing all right?"

            Sally nodded. "Yeah. It's just that this is so different from our normal attacks."

            Sonic nodded in agreement. "Yeah - and this isn't Eggman we're fighting, either. This is some sort of crazy group that's trying to remake the world." He punched a grunt that was sneaking up behind him, causing the green-haired goon to fall backwards, unconscious. "Come on; we don't have that much time. I get the feeling that Maria knows this place better than she lets on."

            Maria did seem to know more than she let on - even more than herself, in fact.

            "I think that there are some stairs up ahead," she warned as they slipped past a wild Golbat.

            "And there that are," Scarlet remarked, pointing to the area in front of them. "I wonder who carved those into the cave floor?"

            Maria shrugged. "You may as well ask who designed the Mystery Dungeons that are scattered around the other side of the world."

            Pika nodded in agreement.

            The group ran up the stairs and found themselves in an area that looked like a large of people and Pokemon had gone through and dumped their trash in the room.

            "What happened here?" Pika asked, horrified.

            "It looks like...a lot of people slept here last night," Scarlet noted.

            Maria nodded in agreement. She walked around the piles of trash and stopped at what seemed to be a torn up tent. "For some reason, whoever-it-was ran out of here fast. What could have scared them?"

            Scarlet looked around and started to investigate that area of the cave, as did Zap and Pika. Maria, however, looked up at the cave ceiling. What she saw up there caused her to gasp in surprise.

            "Guys, I think I see what scared the others," she called, pointing up at the ceiling. The others looked up and saw, as well.

            There was a horde of Kabutops and Omastar on the ceiling.

            Pika let out a groan. "Great! These guys again?"

            Maria nodded. "However, it seems as though they aren't interested in us."

            Scarlet's tails started to twist together. "Only one way to find out." Her tails started to spin like helicopter blades, and she flew up over to the ancient Pokemon on the ceiling.

            "What are you guys doing up here?" Scarlet asked.

            There was a low hiss from the Kabutops closest to her.

            "O.K... Did you see what happened down below?"

            "Kabuu. Kabutops."

            Scarlet nodded, then came back down to the ground. Looking at Maria, she explained, "They actually weren't the cause of all this. The Pokemon were actually forced to move away from their usual territory because there were some Team Galactic members sleeping there." Scarlet motioned to the tunnel at the other end of the chamber. "They did see who did it, though."

            "Who?" Pika asked.

            "They said it was a pink Sandslash, a red Sandslash, and a yellow Vulpix with two tails," Scarlet stated. "Obviously, Amy, Knuckles, and Tails are way ahead of us."

            "Then we'd better get moving," Maria remarked. "No use letting them get ahead of us."

            Pika nodded in agreement. "Let's go."

            The group ran into the next cave...and into a purple figure.

            "Hey!" the purple figure exclaimed. "Watch it!"

            "Sorry!" Maria replied, backing up. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

            The purple figure grunted. "It's all right. I wasn't exactly watching, either." The creature looked the group over with its purple eyes, spotting Scarlet instantly. "Who're you, kid?"

            "The name's Scarlet," Scarlet replied, frowning slightly as she looked the other figuer over.

            The figure was a shade of purple that almost might be considered a light pink, with a darker purple on the tips of its dreadlocks. It was also wearing gloves that were like Knuckles' boxing gloves, but they left the index finger free. The figure - now that it's rather obvious that they were female - wore blue boots the color of Sally's footgear, as well as a dusk-blue vest and a belt of some kind, even though she wasn't wearing pants of any sort. Probably the strangest thing, though, was that one of her dreadlocks was completely robotic.

            "And you are?" Scarlet inquired.

            "The name's Julie-Su," the figure replied. "One of the Chaotix. Who're your friends, Scarlet?"

            "I'm Maria, and this is Pika," Maria introduced. "We're heading up the mountain to fight Team Galactic." She looked Julie-Su over. "You wouldn't happen to know a Mobian Echidna, would you? Red fur, spikey knuckles, and Chaos abilities?"

            Julie-Su let out a gasp. "You've seen Knuckles? Where?"

            "He's on the mountain, somewhere up ahead with Tails and Amy," Scarlet explained. "Sonic, Sally, and Shadow are here, too."

            "Along with Geoffrey and Finitivus, but we're not really counting them," Maria added.

            Julie-Su let out a growl. "Finitivus!" she roared. "Where is that no good Mobian?!"

            "He's stuck in human form, and goes by the name of Charon," Maria explained. "Knuckles was the one who figured it out. They're probably somewhere up ahead - maybe even at the summit by now. Do you think you could give us a hand?"

            The Mobian Echidna nodded vigorously. "My recent companion and I are going to give Finitivus a real hiding!"

            A small, greenish ghost with a red necklace peered out from behind Julie-Su.

            "A Misdrevus!" Maria identified, getting down to the height the Pokemon had chosen to levitate at.

            "I call her Maggie," Julie-Su explained. "She's kinda shy, but she's really powerful, too."

            Maria nodded. "I can believe that." She got back up to her full height. "Let's keep moving; there's still a lot of ground to cover." She then walked over to a set of stairs, careful to avoid the areas where Medicham were meditating and the occasional Golbat was taking a nap. The others quickly followed.

            As they reached the other side of the cave, Zap took note of something on the ground and ran over to investigate.

            "Pachi Pachi!" he called.

            Maria frowned. "That's pretty weird," she noted. She got closer to the ground, inspecting the holes Zap had found. "These aren't naturally made."

            "No, they aren't," agreed a familiar voice. Heads turned as Looker approached with Tox. "Team Galactic members were camping here overnight." He motioned to a hole in the cave wall, where there were pieces if what looked like a mural scattered around. "It looks like they had to destroy a mural before they got here."

            Maria ran over to get a closer look. Picking up one of the pieces, she looked over the destroyed surface carefully. "It looks like...the Legendary Pokemon. The ones I first ran into. Except that, instead of Darkrai, Cresselia, or Manaphy, they have one of the others..." The Trainer looked over at Looker. "Have you tried to go any deeper?"

            Looker shook his head. "The atmosphere seems different in there. Almost...foreboding. It's telling me I'm not supposed to be the one to go up there."

            Julie-Su frowned. "How does that make any sense?"

            "All it means is that we're the ones who are supposed to take Team Galactic down," Maria explained calmly. She looked into the hole in the wall. "I suspect that this leads up to the summit. Let's get going."

            Looker reached into his trench coat. "Before you go, I think you should have this." He pulled out a light blue, diamond-cut gem.

            Julie-Su let out a gasp. "A Chaos Emerald!"

            Looker nodded. "I found it buried in the dirt in the area. I think one of the grunts may have dropped it."

            "If they had this one, they may have others," Maria remarked, taking the gem and placing it in her backpack. "Let's hurry before they actually try and use them."

            Scarlet and Julie-Su nodded in agreement, then ran through the "doorway" in the wall, Maria, Pika, Zap, and Maggie not far behind. They instantly ran into a grunt.

            "We've been assigned to utterly destroy anyone who interferes, and you fit the bill, kid!" she declared. "Go, Beautifly!"

            "Star, take the stage!" Maria exclaimed. "Use Aerial Ace!"

            The Bug-Type fainted instantly.

            The grunt shook her head in shock, backing up until she hit the wall. "I will not accept this; I will not accept this!"

            "You have to; it's been done," Maria growled in reply. She ran deeper in and came across the next grunt.

            "It's our time now!" he declared. "Bronzor!"

            "Machoke! Knock 'em into next week!"

            Machoke laughed in response, then rammed into the Steel/Psychic-Type and used Submission on it, knocking it unconscious and into the nearby cave wall.

            As the grunt collapsed, defeated, Maria ran past, saying, "It was never your time."

            The group then emerged from the cave and entered a snowstorm.

            "Now I see why you told Tails that he couldn't fly his plane up here," Scarlet remarked.

            Maria nodded and started looking around as Pika disappeared into her backpack. "Come on; we've got to find a way back inside and pick up on the trail of grunts again. Let's go." She ran into the snow, Scarlet and Julie-Su not far behind.

            Maria screeched to a halt in front of a large boulder. She then released Machoke from it's ball and stated, "Use Strength to roll it out of the way. But not down the mountain - we don't want to cause an avalanche."

            The Fighting-Type nodded, then pushed the boulder forward until the pathway was clear, leaving the giant rock sitting about a yard away from the cliff.

            Maria nodded in approval. "Good job, Machoke. Return."

            "You look like a woman on a mission," Julie-Su remarked.

            "If Team Galactic isn't stopped, their leader could remake a world where we won't exist," Maria replied. "A world without spirit is bad enough."

            The echidna flinched. "Remake the world? That sounds like something Eggman would come up with."

            "I think it's much worse than that," Maria replied. She ran up a set of carved stairs and avoid some patches of grass, where a family of Snover and Abomasnow were playing. "Think of a world filled with people who act like robots, and never get to know anything different. And then there's one guy who everyone's programmed to worship as a god, all because he recreated the world. Eggman's a step below that, because there's always a chance with him to free everyone. If Cyrus succeeds, there won't be anyone left to stop him."

            Scarlet frowned. "That is pretty bad."

            "Now you see why I'm running and trying to follow the trail of grunts; the sooner we get to the summit, the better."

            They found a cave at the end of the area of grass, hidden in a cave wall. Not very far in, they found another grunt.

            "We're going to turn back time!" he declared, releasing a Dustox. "To a time and place with no Pokemon!"

            "I don't think so!" Maria barked in reply. Something about what he'd said sounded familiar, and it made her uneasy. "Star, take it out!"

            The Staraptor actually took out _two_ Dustox, and switched with Jirachi a moment later when the grunt brought out a Golbat. One Zen Headbutt later, and Maria was moving onto the next grunt.

            "Team Galactic is all-powerful!" the next grunt exclaimed as he released a Stunky. "Only a fool would show defiance to the mighty might of Team Galactic!"

            Maria let out a short bark of a laugh as she let Luke go loose on the opponent Pokemon. "A fool, huh?" She gained a twisted grin as Luke took out the Stunky, then switched him for Jirachi as the grunt tried to take her out with a Golbat.

**Maria's POV**

            I shook my head as Jirachi downed the Golbat with a Zen Headbutt, then returned the Legendary as the Galactic goon fell back, shocked that I'd managed to take him out. "If only fools will stand up to you, I guess we're pretty dumb, then."

            The words felt odd in my mouth, almost as though I'd spoken them before to someone before, but couldn't remember to whom or where. I also didn't know how I knew where to go. But I did, so I just rolled with the punches.

            We went back outside this time through a different entrance. I could tell we were getting closer to the summit, because of this feeling in my gut that had started to develop. Almost mindlessly, I found the next cave entrance and led Scarlet and Julie-Su inside. The grunts we ran into were pummeled to the ground easily.

            I looked around after beating the last grunt, who was now sniffling and sitting on the ground.

            "This cave's a dead end," I muttered. "They gave us a false lead."

_I should've remembered that._

            I blinked when I heard the voice in my mind, then shook my head and started back towards the cave entrance, leading everyone else back outside. Almost instantly, I was able to see where the proper path was, and we were heading into another cave.

            We stepped inside and ran up a slope that might have been stairs at some time.

            "Our boss is doing something big at the summit," a female grunt muttered. "And you're ruining the atmosphere. Lose quickly, all right?"

            I chuckled. "Depends on whether or not you out up a fight," I remarked. "Luke, use Force Palm!"

            "Bronzor, Safeguard!" the grunt exclaimed, panicking. Didn't help, though. Her next Pokemon of choice was a Glameow, who Luke took care of even though it used Iron Defense.

            Luke grinned at the grunt, then got into a familiar stance I knew too well. He then fired off an Aura Sphere that took out a nearby boulder.

            "That's for trying to recreate the universe," he growled.

            I grinned at the Pokemon. "Now you've become a true force to be reckoned with, Luke. Let's get the next guy."

            The next grunt thought he could take out Leon with a Bronzor, but it didn't work out to his favor. Neither did the Golbat that Jirachi took out.

            "What is it with the bad guys and Poison and Dark Types, anyway?" I asked as we continued on. "Team Rocket had Grimer and Koffing, then Houndour. Teams Aqua and Magma used Golbat, Carvanha, and Poocheyna. And these guys use Stunky and Golbat!"

            Scarlet shrugged. "Maybe they think the Pokemon fit their image or something. Dim Sun used whatever Pokemon they could get their hands on."

            We climbed a set of stairs, ran into a Chimecho, which I caught on instinct before we ran into another female grunt.

            "You're almost to the summit," the grunt noted as she brought out a Golbat. "But I'm going to send you home!"

            "We'll see who's going home!" I barked back. "Jirachi, take it out!"

            The grunt let out a hiss as she switched out the fainted Pokemon for a Glameow; I switched to Machoke and had him knock the cat into Submission. Her last Pokemon -- a Bronzor -- quickly followed.

            The grunt let out a growl as she returned the Pokemon to its ball. "How dare you," she growled. "Now, we're all going to be discarded and called useless."

            "You're boss is ruthless, then," I noted.

            The grunt glared at me before giving me a curt nod.

            I looked back at Julie-Su and Scarlet. "Let's go. The summit's through there." I pointed to the hole in the cave wall just ahead of us. "You guys ready?"

            The two nodded.

            I glared at the cave exit. "Then let's go."

            We made our way over to the door, only for someone to call, "Wait!"

            We turned around to see Sonic, Sally, and the others run over to us.

            "Let's step out there toge-" Knuckles started.

            "Knuckles!" Julie-Su exclaimed, tackling that red echidna.

            "Julie!" Knuckles exclaimed. "I thought I'd never see you again."

            "I thought the same about you," Julie-Su replied, looking into her boyfriend's eyes.

            Sonic and Sally looked at each other, smiles on their faces.

            "Save the mushy stuff for later, guys," Sonic said. "We've got to stop Cyrus, remember?"

            The rest of the group nodded.

            I cracked my knuckles. "Let's get that guy."

            We all marched out of the cave...and onto a platform with a flute carved into it. We were on the summit.

            Sally looked at the strange pillars that were ahead of us. "What is this place?"

            I started drawing on what I knew from reading what archeologists had said, but then I blinked in surprise when I found there was _more_ in my head than what I'd known before. "It's called Spear Pillar. According to the Sinnoh legends, this place was supposed to be the origin point for this world's creation. It's also one of the few places that the Legendary Pokemon connected to this region will appear at." I swallowed. "Cyrus must be planning something involving Dialga and Palkia."

            "The Legendaries you know about?" Knuckles looked at me sharply.

            I nodded. "Yeah. How is it that I didn't see the connection before? If you can control the Pokemon that can control time and space, you can warp the world however you see fit if you manage to get the Pokemon to unlock those abilities for you!"

            "You will not get any farther!" A pair of grunts jumped out, blocking the stairs leading up to the main part of the ruins.

            "I don't think so!" I glared up at them. "You guys go on ahead -- try to stop whatever it is that Cyrus is planning! I'll take care of these two morons!"

            "It'll be my pleasure," Vent growled. He sprinted ahead, Knuckles and the rest of the Mobians - including Scarlet - we're not far behind with their Pokemon.

            "Something big's going to happen," one of the grunts told me as I approached them.

            "And we don't want you to meddle around with it, either," the other added.

            "That's why the two of us'll team up to take you down to the ground!" they said together. "Stunky, Dustox!"

**Change in POV**

            Sonic screeched to a halt in front of Charon, who was standing next to an odd-looking machine that had bright red gems swirling around inside. "It's over, Finitivus!"

            Charon gained a sinister grin. "On the contrary, it's only just the beginning!" He snapped his fingers, and a rather battered-looking, cyan-furred Lucario grabbed Sonic from behind.

            "H-hey!" Sonic tried to get out of the Lucario's grip. "What do you think you're--" His eyes widened when he saw the same glazed-over look in the Lucario's eyes that Keith had had back in the Galactic Headquarters. Sonic turned sharply and glared at Charon. "Why you little--"

            _Piing!_

            Sonic flinched as something hit him in the chest, and the hedgehog suddenly went limp as the same glazed expression that the Lucario had took over his own face. At the same time, his fur started turning a deep, tar black.

            "No!" Paul focused his energy in on himself, and he glowed briefly as he quickly grew larger, gaining a mane of feathers down his back. "Sonic!"

            The other Pokemon let out their own cries of horror, and some started glowing as well, each reaching their own final evolution forms -- even the Misdreavus.

            Charon grinned. "I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about this." He hit the button on the remote multiple times, causing multiple gems to shoot out and pursue the Pokemon and remaining free Mobians...


	37. Chapter 37

**Maria's POV**

            I walked into Spear Pillar, ignoring the urge to go in and among the pillars to look at the ruins themselves. I could do that later, when the world wasn't in danger. Up ahead, I could hear only silence...

            Wait. _Silence?_ Surely Sonic and the others were fighting someone else up here by now. I started to run, in order to see what may have happened.

            Thanks to my guard being down, I was grabbed by two grunts from out of nowhere.

            "Let go!" I hollered instinctively, trying to shake off their grip. It wasn't much use, though -- they were clearly stronger than I was.

            Mars and Jupiter came over, huge grins on their faces.

            "Well, well, looks like you're going to be next," Mars said with a grin.

            I frowned, confused and a little anxious. "Next? Next for what?"

            Jupiter pointed to the other end of Spear Pillar. There, Charon stood with a machine and a chained and battered, oddly cyan-furred Lucario, firing off small sequences of red gems...at my friends. Something at the back of my head told me that the red gems were part of the Red Chain...and that this wasn't supposed to happen.

            "No!" I yelled. I doubled my efforts to get loose, to try and rescue my friends.

            "You aren't getting out of our grip," one of the grunts said with a grin.

            I gritted my teeth in response. "Pika! Get out of my backpack and use Thunderbolt on these guys!"

            My backpack shifted, and Pika started growling as electricity filled the air. "Thunderbolt!"

            The resulting blast got the two grunts, and it tried to get to me, too -- I could feel the hair on my arms rise in response to it -- but the Thunderbolt was unable to hurt me.

            Thank Arceus for IQ Skills.

            As the two men collapsed, I glared at the two women in front of me. "You're not going to get away with this," I growled. "Pika!"

            "You got it!" he replied. "Thunderbolt!"

            "Bronzor, Protect!"

            Pika's move bounced off the force field that Mars' and Jupiter's Bronzor had created.

            I started to panic. This was not supposed to happen. I was supposed to beat Mars and Jupiter with Barry's help, and I was supposed to stop Cyrus on my own! They're are way too powerful and organized to allow me to take them down now.

            As I was about to tell Pika one of the last few commands I was probably ever going to make before the world was remade, something at the back of my head clicked. I closed my eyes, and pictures came flooding into my mind. Pictures...that were my memories.

**Change in POV**

            "We have to stop this!" Magenta exclaimed. "I'm not going to sit by while my sister's being mind-controlled!"

            "Magenta, their guard is up," Shadow replied. "I don't know if there's anything we can do."

            "Yes, there is," the human-turned-Mobian replied stubbornly. She slipped out of the group's hiding place and started to approach Team Galactic.

            "Wait until the time is right," Shadow said quickly, holding onto her.

            Magenta glared at the black hedgehog. "The time is right now! If we strike now, Team Galactic will be stopped!"

            "Now, all will and and be reborn!" Cyrus called. "With the Red Chain, I summon Dialga, controller of time, and Palkia, controller of space!"

**Maria's POV**

            I opened my eyes to see that Mars and Jupiter had their backs turned to me as Cyrus used what remained of the Red Chain to summon my friends from the other side of the world. I shuddered to see Dialga, the first Legendary that I had ever recruited, with orange all over his cobalt body, and the sky blue gem in his chest the same color. Palkia had also changed, but he had become a deep red, with his gem the same color, and orange lines all over.

            "The Primals..." Pika identified. "Maria, we have to do something! He's going to destroy the world!"

            "And we have to stop it," I muttered. I took a step forward, but Sonic and Sally grabbed me. I looked at my old friends and realized that they had changed, thanks to the Red Chain's influence. Now, their fur was completely black, and they didn't have any irises anymore.

            "Dark Supers." I frowned, remembering a cartoon that I'd watched years ago, and what had happened to the main character once. Sonic and the other Mobians should have never gone through the same thing.

            "This world cannot be molded into the ultimate world I seek!" Cyrus called out. "It is far easier to create a new world without spirit rather than simply change this one into a world where I shall be a deity!"

            "No! Chaos Blast!"

            There was a sudden explosion from the other side of the Protect. It startled the Bronzor enough to lower its defense, and I caught sight of a magenta-colored Mobian and a Bagon before I sprang into action.

            "Pika! Summon him!" I ordered. "Summon Giratina!"

            "He's already on his way!" Pika replied. "I saw him through my Exploration Badge. He's coming through the Distortion World!"

            I nodded in approval. "Good. Let's do this. You take Jupiter; I've got Mars." My mind is still supplying me with new information; during the battle, maybe I can start to make sense of it.

            Sonic and Sally released me without a word, but before Sonic ran off, I snatched the purple Emerald from out of his head quills and stuck it in my backpack with the cyan one.

            Mars was really mad at me for the last few times I'd beaten her. Well, surprise surprise, I was planning on beating her again. It didn't matter that the other times I didn't know her as well as I do now; what mattered was freeing my friends.

**Change in POV**

            Brendan pulled out a PokeBall. "Pine! Destroy that machine!" he ordered.

            The Sceptile nodded and sent out a shockwave of Grass Energy from the leaves on his arms. It hit the machine dead on, but didn't do anything.

            "Looks like we'll have to get physical with our attacks," Black noted. He tossed out a PokeBall of his own. "Go, Jade!"

            A green serpent came out of the PokeBall.

            "We have to get in close, then unleash a Leaf Blade," Black instructed. "You up for it?"

            Jade nodded.

            "Then let's go!"

            The two Trainers and their Pokemon moved in close, trying to avoid the attacks that came in from the Red Chain'd Pokemon. When they got close enough, Jade and Pine fired off a double Leaf Blade and destroyed the machine, causing it to force a shut down.

            "Great job, guys!" Magenta called out. "Now we can free the rest of them!" She started throwing Chaos Spears from a purple-shaded hammer, as a giant blue dragon with red wings watched her from above.

**Maria's POV**

            I glared at Mars and Jupiter, who stepped aside for me and Pika. Suddenly, the whole place went dark as light started to come off of Primal Dialga and Primal Palkia. I knew what was happening immediately, even before Cyrus said it.

            "This is the new world...and it's beautiful!"

            _"Not if I've got anything to say about it,"_ growled a familiar voice in my head. _"Spirits! Now!"_

            Merlin, Jewels, and Lien suddenly appeared around Dialga and Palkia, as a large shadow appeared above us.

            "Giratina!" I identified, relieved.

            _"Greetings, Vulpix,"_ the Legendary of the Distortion World replied. _"It is good to see you alive and well."_ He glared at Cyrus. _"To create a world without spirit is something that I would not recommend, boy. Leave off this silly dream!"_

            There was the sudden sound of something shattering, and I watched in amazement as Team Spirit released Dialga from his bonds. They started to move over to where Primal Palkia was, but Sonic and the others got in the way.

            "Now!" exclaimed another familiar voice. I looked over to see Shadow standing next to a Mobians bat and the magenta-furred Mobian I'd seen earlier. They threw out two Emeralds - blue and green - and ran over to the machine I had seen Charon messing around with, which was now smoking.

            As the two Emeralds started to circle the controlled Mobians, I realized what they were planning on doing and tossed out my own two as the red one in Knuckles' dreadlocks came out.

            Cyrus became confused. "What is this?" he demanded.

            "Palkia, ignore the fool," Charon stated calmly. "Summon the man you banished! Summon the Eggman!"

            Palkia let out a roar that sounded like he was in pain as he opened up a dimensional rift in front of him. From out of it fell...a man. And this was no ordinary man. He wore black pants that stretched over his shoes, and a strange, red jacket with rectangular buttons on it.

            "Great," I growled. "Pika, are you up for a Legendary boss battle?"

            "You know it!" Pika replied. "Anything to stop them!"

            "Good. Let's get 'em!"

**Change in POV**

            Maria ran at full speed directly at Cyrus and Charon, neither of whom were paying any attention to her.

            "Hey, boys!" she shouted. "Take this!"

            Her hands were suddenly surrounded by a fiery energy, which took everyone present and control of themselves by surprise.

            "Blaze Claw!" she roared, slashing the air in front of her. The fire continued forward...and hit Charon's machine, completely tearing it up even more than when Brendan and Black had attacked it.

            An instant later, the yellow and gray Chaos Emeralds joined the rest of the gems already encircling the Mobians, and a bright light came off them. When the light had faded, the Mobians were no longer under the Red Chain's control and were instead transformed: Sonic was his Super form, complete with golden fur and red eyes; Knuckles was pink with red eyes (Hyper); Tails had gained a red cape and his fur had become a deep orange (Turbo); Sally had turned gold, her eyes becoming a robin's egg blue (Super); Amy was now gold, with her emerald eyes becoming a bright pink (Super); Julie-Su had become an extremely bright pink, with red eyes (Hyper); and Scarlet's had become a bright, shining yellow, and her eyes were now a gold color.

            "Come on, guys!" Super Sonic called. "We gotta free Palkia!"

            "Don't leave me out of it," Shadow shouted back.

            Hyper Knuckles laughed. "I gotcha, Shadow." He flew down and grabbed Shadow's shoulder, transferring some of his power into the black hedgehog, who's black fur became a gold-silver. Shadow then grabbed Magenta, who became red with golden eyes.

            "Let's go!" Magenta exclaimed, excited.

            "You mean 'let's do it to it!' " Maria grinned widely. She started to head over to where Palkia stood, but then Lien appeared beside her.

            _"I know you'd like to help them, but you've got to fight him,"_ the Mesprit explained, pointing to Cyrus. _"We'll take care of Palkia."_

            Maria nodded. "All right, then." She glared at Cyrus, who was looking a little confused.

            "I don't understand!" he exclaimed. "Why did they come and stop me? Why did Mesprit appear beside you? But never mind that! It's all destroyed! My galaxy is gone!"

            "And you're going to try again to recreate it." Maria rolled her eyes. "I've heard it all before."

            Cyrus glared at her. "And before I try that, I'm going to crush you! Beryl! Midnight!"

            The echidna and the hedgehog appeared in front of Maria, but before they could do anything, they were swept away by Scarlet and a pink Mobian bat - obviously, Rouge had a Super form, as well.

            "Let's do this the old-fashioned way," Maria replied with a grin. "Pika, let's do this!"

            "Right!" the Electric-Type replied.

            Cyrus summoned his Honchkrow and told him to use a Dark Pulse, but Pika responded with a Thunderbolt that knocked it into a nearby pillar with one hit. The Gyrados Cyrus brought out was given the same treatment.

            Pika huffed. "If that was the same Gyrados from the Miracle Sea, then he's definitely gotten soft."

            Cyrus gritted his teeth -- probably the first show of real anger that Maria had seen from him. "Weavile! Destroy that mouse!"

            "Pika, switch with Luke! We need an Aura Sphere, stat!" Maria threw out the PokeBall, grinning as Pika jumped back and Luke practically _exploded_ out of the PokeBall, slamming an Aura Sphere into the Dark/Ice-Type's face. "Now, pull back!"

            "Crobat!" Cyrus brought out his last Pokemon, which Maria didn't even bat an eye at as she brought out Jirachi.

            Maria raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that, somewhere, deep inside, you love your Pokemon just as much as your Crobat loves you? Emotions make you stronger, and it shows through your Pokemon. Zen Headbutt!"

            "Con--"

            _Wham!_

            Maria nodded in approval as Jirachi flew back to her side, leaving the Crobat collapsed on the ground. "I guess you didn't have as much faith in your Pokemon as they do in you. That's a real shame, because even Giovanni, Maxie, and Archie were much better about their teams than you seem to be." Her eyes narrowed. "You are despicable."


	38. Chapter 38

            "I won't accept this!" Cyrus called out.

            _"Can it!"_ Giratina growled. _"I'm gonna give you a time-out back at my place. You need one."_

            Cyrus glared at the Legendary, then looked at Maria. "What is truly ultimate to you? What do you consider perfection?"

            "My bond with my friends is the most powerful thing that I could ever ask for." Maria inclined her head. "And, if anything, I consider that which you thought weak to be the most perfect. It's what makes us human."

            Cyrus snorted. "Telling you is meaningless, but I _will_ become a deity one day."

            _"No, you won't,"_ Dialga stated from where he stood. _"You aren't qualified for it."_

 _"I've seen what you have done in other worlds,"_ Palkia added, _"and it's not what I would call a perfect world. Giratina, take him away."_

 _"With pleasure,"_ Giratina replied. He opened up a hole in space behind Cyrus and pushed the man in with the tip of his tail. _"I won't be reporting in for a while, Pika."_

            "That's fine," the Pikachu replied. "So long as you get him to actually settle down."

            Giratina then went through the hole and vanished, the portal closing behind him.

            Maria looked at Mars and Jupiter, who seemed shaken by the whole ordeal. "And what are you going to do? Fight back? You're outnumbered and your Pokemon are down for the count."

            Mars glared at Maria, muttering something under her breath about revenge when Beryl, now back to his normal fur color, came up from behind and handcuffed her, a pink Crobat with gold wing membranes flying behind him. Jupiter was also caught by surprise when Rouge did the same.

            "We'll take these two into custody," Rouge stated calmly. "Looker's going to want to ask them a lot of questions."

            "Unhand me!" Jupiter snapped.

            "No way, toots. You had this one coming."

            Charon started to chuckle nervously as the Mobians and their Pokemon crowded around him.

            "Now, now, I used to be Mobian, remember?" he asked nervously.

            "You were in no way a friend of ours," Knuckles growled. "Sonic, do you have Eggman?"

            "We got him," Sonic replied from where he and Sally were sitting on the egg-shaped genius. Paul and Nicole were standing nearby.

            "Get off!" Eggman barked.

            "Not until you explain where you've been, Eggy."

            _"I sent him to a place that would help to teach him a lesson at Silver's request,"_ Palkia explained. He looked down at Charon. _"Obviously, he managed to get in touch with someone on the outside."_

            Charon looked away nervously.

 _"Maria, how have you been?"_ Dialga asked.

            "Well enough," Maria replied calmly. "I think I've recovered everything."

            _"Really? That is good news. I suppose that means you want a bit of an explanation for what has taken place, then?"_

            Most of the group looked confused.

            "What do you mean by that, Dialga?" Tails asked.

            "You remember when I told you guys that I'd lost a good chunk of my memory?" Maria asked. "The part concerning the bad future?"

            Sonic and Knuckles exchanged glances while the others (except Shadow, Magenta, and Black) nodded.

            Black looked confused. "Bad future? What do you mean?"

            Maria glanced at him. "Before I was a Trainer, I was a Pokemon - a Vulpix, to be precise. Pika was the first Pokemon that I remembered meeting originally, and the two of us set up a group called Team PokeExplore. In reality, I was originally human, and so we all thought, I had grown up in a bad future with a Grovyle."

            "And you have the memories from the bad future back, then," Brendan guessed.

            "And from even before that," Maria added. Seeing the increased confusion on all of their faces, she explained, "Those are the memories that I've managed to regain. Unbeknownst to most of you, I have been having dreams consisting of my memories from before. Sonic and Knuckles, thanks to Aurora, a Mew, did a joint dream thing with me for two nights and helped me recover most of my memory. The rest came up today." She held out her right hand, and a blast of flame appeared, forming into a staff, on which sat the head of a flaming bird that looked somewhat like Moltres, but wasn't quite one.

            Maria smiled. "It's been awhile since I've seen this," she remarked. She looked over at Dialga and Palkia as the staff vanished. "Now for that explanation. Did you really _have_ to combine Mobius and this planet?"

            Everyone stared at her in shock as Palkia nodded.

            _"It had to be done,"_ the Legendary Pokemon confirmed.

            "Wait a Sonic Second," Sonic said quickly. "Did you just say that Mobius and another planet were bonded together?"

            Maria nodded. "It's the only thing that can explain the spacial earthquake, much less how you're here in the first place. I should have regained memories when I was going through the ruins all over the regions - they said a lot about your adventures."

            "And I can attest to that," Scarlet added. "In Celestic Town, the ruins there had carvings on the walls that showed you guys."

            "And don't forget the caves in the Lakes," Tails remarked.

            "I guess that explains why we're here and not back in New Mobotropolis," Sally stated. "However, how did my computer become a Pokemon, and a psychopath echidna become a human?"

            Charon looked around nervously. "Luke, protect me," he whimpered.

            The battered Lucario glared at him. _"Not on your life!"_ he snapped, teeth bared.

            Maria stiffened, staring at the cyan Lucario in shock. " _Luke_?"

            The Lucario looked in her direction, and his hardened look softened into one of relief. _"Maria,"_ he managed. He took a couple steps toward her, but then collapsed.

            "Take it easy," Maria told him, leaning him back and lying him down on his back. She dug through her backpack and pulled out what looked like a small satchel. "I'm lucky I still carry this from my days as a Pokemon Explorer." She opened it up and gave Luke what looked like a seed, and then a yellow, peach-shaped berry with orange spots. "Eat these; we'll carry you down the mountain and to the nearest Pokemon Center."

            The Lucario sighed with relief, swallowing the items. _"I'm very lucky you managed to find me. If I had been forced to work for him for much longer..."_ He lifted his paws, which were chained together.

            Vent came over. "Let me," he said, his paws glowing with Chaos Energy. "Chaos Palm!"

            He broke the chains easily.

            Luke looked at Vent as he crossed his arms over his chest and around his chest spike. _"What is your name?"_

            "Vent," Vent replied.

            _"The next question I ask, I want you to project using your mind to everyone present. What are your mother's and Trainer's names?"_

            _"My mother is Lucia and my Trainer is Knuckles the Echidna, Guardian of the Master Emerald."_ Vent looked around. _"Did you guys hear me?"_

Luke looked very happy, even though he was still in pain. _"Loud and clear...my son. Do you realize how much I've worried about you ever since I was taken from our home? It is good to see you alive and well, as well as all grown up."_

 _"Dad,"_ Vent murmured, tears coming out of his eyes. He knelt down next to him. _"What did they do to you?"_

 _"Charon - or, as you know him, Finitivus - tortured me to see if I knew anything that he did not. He seemed to relish my pain."_ The Lucario shuddered. _"He learned about the Exploration Teams on the other side of the world, but - thank the Aura - I had the strength to resist any further questioning. When I'd heard that Lucia had managed to escape, that strengthened me further. Where is she now?"_

            "Training with a Pokemon Ranger named Kate," Maria replied. "I have no idea specifically where they are, but I think that they're still in the Sinnoh Region."

            "There!" someone called from above. Everyone looked up to see two Staraptor circling above, which started to come in for a landing.

            "Speaking of Pokemon Rangers," Brendan muttered.

            "Hey, guys!" Kellyn called out as he jumped off the Staraptor he had been riding. "The snowstorm only just cleared up around the mountain, and Kate and I decided to check in and see what was going on."

            "Lucia also mentioned that there was a sudden raise in Aura, too," Kate added as she and the mentioned Lucario hopped off their Staraptor.

            _"It felt like there was a battle going on,"_ Lucia added.

            "There kind of was," Sonic admitted. "All of us were almost taken over by Charon's Red Chain thing. Plus..." He pointed over to where Vent was kneeling next to Luke.

            Lucia let out a gasp. _"Luke!"_ she exclaimed. She ran over to the weak Pokemon. _"What happened to you?"_

 _"Charon,"_ Vent replied. He pointed over to where the old man was surrounded by the Mobians. _"We have him contained, Mom. Don't worry."_

            Lucia looked Vent over. _"Vent? You evolved?"_

            "Not too long after you left, Knuckles and he had a bit of a bonding moment," Paul explained from where he stood next to Sonic. "Maria, Sonic, little Luke, and I kinda orchestrated the whole thing."

            Luke looked at Maria. _"You named another Pokemon Luke?"_

            "After you," Maria replied, releasing the Pokemon from his PokeBall. "Luke, meet your namesake, Luke."

            Luke waved nervously at the older, Shiny Lucario.

            Luke smiled. _"Greetings, Luke. It is an honor to have someone named after me."_

            The younger Lucario nodded. _"It's an honor to meet the Lucario I've been named after."_ Taking note of the looks of surprise, he explained, _"PokeBalls aren't exactly soundproof. Or telepathic-proof."_

            Lucia nodded. She then looked at her husband. _"I've been so worried about you."_

 _"And I you,"_ the other replied. He looked over at Kellyn, who was still standing next to Kate, looking a little like a third wheel. _"You are a Pokemon Ranger without a Pokemon Partner, correct?"_

            Kellyn looked startled to be asked this, then nodded. "That's me."

_"You and Kate work together on missions often, correct?"_

            Kellyn nodded again.

            Luke got up slightly, smiling a little. _"I would like to become your Pokemon Partner, if you will permit it."_

            Kellyn became incredibly surprised. "Me? Are you serious?"

            "He asked you, didn't he?" Paul asked with a cheeky smirk.

            Kellyn grinned hugely. "It would be an honor to have you as my Pokemon Partner, Luke! Capture On!"

            The disk came out of his Styler and looped around the Shiny Pokemon, getting closer and closer until it seemed to bond with the Lucario's body.

            :: _Capture Complete::_ the Styler beeped. _::Luke is now your Partner Pokemon::_

            "But you're still an honorary member of the PokeExplore Guild," Pika added from his perch on Maria's shoulder.

            Luke smiled. _"Once I'm fully healed, I'll be back in action!"_

 _"And I can show you what I've learned,"_ Vent added. _"Knuckles is a great teacher when it comes to Chaos Abilities."_

            "Can you use Chaos Blast?" asked a certain, magenta-furred Mobian.

            Vent frowned, then shook his head, while Scarlet stared in shock.

            "Magenta?" she asked.

            This caught the other Mobian's attention. The two moved a little closer to each other to give the other a better look.

            "Scarlet!" Magenta exclaimed, hugging the other human-turned Mobian.

            Scarlet looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Magenta," she murmured, hugging her little sister back.

            Somewhere in the crowd of Mobians, a midnight-furred Mobian let out a moan and got up slowly. The Pokemon surrounding him - Gear, Zap, and Drake - watched him warily.

            A large weasel that looked like it could be a raft approached the Mobian, sniffing him carefully.

            "Keith? Are you all right?" the Pokemon asked.

            The Mobian looked over at the Pokemon. "Zel? You've evolved!"

            Zel nodded. "I wanted to free you from the control of the Red Chain, so I upped my game."

            Keith hugged the Pokemon fiercely. "It was all so horrible! Being forced to do things I wouldn't do otherwise..." He shuddered vigorously.

            Kate and Kellyn looked at Keith in shock.

            "Keith?" Kate asked. "What happened to you?"

            "He happened," Keith replied, pointing an accusing finger at Charon. "Decided to turn me into this after Scarlet and Magenta ran out on him. His Skuntank of a grandson-"

            "Adoptive!" Charon interrupted.

            "-stuck a piece of the Red Chain in when he wasn't looking. It was about as bad as Hypnosis, only I actually knew what was going on."

            "The closest I get to understanding how you feel is when I got Robotosized the first time," Sonic remarked with a shudder. "Not a good experience."

            Eggman also shuddered, which caused Maria to look at him in surprise.

            "What makes you so nervous about his mentioning of Mecha Sonic?" she asked. "After all, you were the one who turned him into it in the first place!"

            "What I saw in that other place...made me rethink some things."

            Sonic looked down at the mechanical maniac in surprise. "You must be kidding. Eggman? Rethinking his evil plans of destruction?"

            Maria looked at Palkia. "Where did you send him?"

 _"A place where he actually did manage to take over,"_ Palkia replied, _"only for him to be forced to wage war against those who didn't like his ideals. Now, the entire planet is a robotic jungle, and the only rule that exists is obey, or die. The other Eggman has no intention in helping anyone else take over their world...unless it means that he gets it himself. You see, this other Eggman...is mind-controlled by one of Black Doom's generals."_ The Legendary looked in Shadow's direction, who glared back.

            "I'll never become like that," the black hedgehog growled.

 _"Because Sonic found and revived your true memories before Black Doom could completely destroy it and take away your freedom,"_ Dialga pointed out. _"Compared to how you could turn out, you should consider yourself lucky."_

            "So, why did you guys think the planets had to be bonded?" Maria asked. "You didn't just decide to make it happen."

            Dialga shook his head. _"It was a decision made by a higher power. Since Sonic had participated in a competition - whether by accident or on purpose, even I am unsure - we had to do something in order to make him an honorary member in the Smash Brothers competition. So, his home and our home planet were bonded together, in order to make that happen."_

 _"We did it in the past, so that they would blend in with the culture a little easier,"_ Palkia continued. _"However, we weren't exactly expecting a large amount of the Mobians to die out. So, with Merlin's guidance, we pulled a small number from the past and into the present. Guardian, you will find your Master Emerald protected by a Pokemon named Landerous at the Abundant Shrine in Unova. Shadow, Magenta, Black, and Brendan already know of its location."_

Knuckles looked at Shadow in surprise. "You've been there?"

            "It was one of the safest places to train Magenta to use Chaos Energy," Shadow explained calmly.

            Magenta grinned nervously as Scarlet looked at her in surprise.

            "You can use Chaos Energy?" Scarlet asked her sister.

            Magenta nodded. "Yup! That's 'cause I've got Shadow's DNA in me!"

            "And it looks like Keith might need some training, too," Maria added, pointing to the white chest fur. "That gives it away completely. As for the fur color, I think he's got some of Sonic in him, too."

            Keith looked down at the chest fur. "So, what does that mean for me?"

            "You probably have Sonic's speed, plus access to the Chaos Force," Maria explained. "You'll have to experiment a little in order to really figure out all of your abilities."

            Scarlet looked like she was suddenly hit with an idea. "Hey, Palkia!" she called. "Is it possible to change us back into what we we before? You did turn Maria from a Vulpix and back into a human."

            Palkia looked down at Scarlet, then at Magenta and Keith, considering. _"I probably could,"_ he replied after a moment. _"However, you have to be truly certain that you wish to be human again. Maria, unless she went through another attack in the Time Tunnel, cannot turn back into a Vulpix. However, she can use her Fire Abilities without the need to rely on the form of a Pokemon, because of pre-present experiences. I cannot guarantee whether or not you will have the abilities you have in this form. Consider your choices wisely."_

            "Well, I'm going to stay like this!" Magenta stated boldly. "I find it pretty cool that I can use moves like a Pokemon, and fight alongside Drake. I think I've gotten used to my new form, too. Why waste a few days and feel like I'm missing something for the rest of my life?"

            Scarlet looked at her sister in surprise, then frowned as she thought of her own choices. Maria watched her face expressions, and could tell that the Mobian was feeling indecisive.

            "If opinion matters, I suggest you stay as you are, so that your sister isn't the only one," the Trainer suggested. "Besides - whoever heard of a Pokemon Ranger or Trainer who has a closer bond with her Pokemon because she also is one herself?"

            Scarlet looked at Maria. "You really seem to think I'd be more comfortable in this form," she noted, fox tails twitching.

            Maria nodded. "You've been using the abilities this form has for the past few days; what makes you think you'll ever be able to fly without a Staraptor's aid again, or destroy rocks without asking a Machoke for assistance? I'm lucky that I've got my fire abilities, even in my human form."

            Scarlet took in what Maria had said, only to see a different path. She looked at her sister. "I like your idea of fighting alongside Pokemon Partners. If you stay a Mobian, I'm staying a Mobian."

            Palkia looked at Keith. _"And you?"_

            Keith looked up at the Legendary Pokemon without batting an eye. "I've been forced to do things that I wouldn't do otherwise in this form, and of that happened to someone else when I was a human and completely defenseless were it not for Zel, I wouldn't be able to do anything to help. I'm going to take this form, and turn the tables on the remaining Galactic idiots, and anyone else who wants to try anything like this."

            Palkia nodded. _"Very well. All three of you are going to remain in this form. If any of you wish to change your mind, find Maria or come back to Spear Pillar and talk to me. I can change you back and forth, but I don't want to do it too much."_

            The three Mobians nodded.

            "Hey!" someone called. Everyone turned to see Looker and Tox running over.

            "Hey, Looker," Maria greeted. "Are you here to arrest Team Galactic?"

            The IP Agent nodded.

            "Right over here, kid," Rouge called from behind Mars. "You can take these two in."

            "And this one," Knuckles added, pushing Charon forward.

            Looker found a pair of handcuffs in one of his coat pockets and cuffed Charon. "Where's Cyrus?"

            _"Giratina took him into the Distortion World to let him think things over alone,"_ Palkia explained calmly. _"He will be returned to this world eventually."_

            Looker nodded, not at all nervous to be standing in the presence of two Legendary Pokemon.

            "Let's take these three back to Headquarters," Looker told Rouge and Beryl.

            Beryl nodded, but Rouge looked a bit bored.

            "Swoon, honey, could you take this girl and meet us at whatever transportation that Looker arranged?"

            The bat nodded, grabbed Mars, and flew off.

            "Crow, I'd ask you to do the same thing, but you don't have feet, so I'm going to walk her back down," Beryl stated calmly.

            "Exactly why I'm going to take her," Rouge replied as she grabbed Jupiter's arms. "Meet you at the helicopter!" The Mobian bat flew off.

            Beryl chuckled. "That's Rouge for ya. Let's get going, Crow."

            "Aye," the shiny Crobat stated.

            Looker, Charon, Beryl, Tox, and the bat Pokemon then left.

            "We should get going, too," Kate remarked. "Nurse Joy has to get a look at Luke as soon as possible."

            Brendan nodded. "I'll take him down." He grabbed a PokeBall and released a Flygon. Climbing up onto the Pokemon, he said, "Transfer him up here. Rangers, if you want to come down with me, I do have a Salamence as well."

            Kate, Kellyn, and Lucia looked at each other, then nodded. The group then rode out on Brendan's Flygon and Salamence, Luke riding on the former.

            As those remaining watched them go, Maria remembered something.

            "You know, guys, at this point Professor Rowan and Lucas come up here and say something about capturing a Legendary in order to help him get his power back under control," Maria told the others. "I don't see them here, but I think it might be a good idea if at least one of you came along, just because. I would ask Giratina, but he's going to be a bit busy babysitting Cyrus. So, it's gotta be one of you two."

            Dialga and Palkia looked at each other.

            _"Well, I'm not quite sure that the planets have completely fused yet,"_ Palkia admitted, _"and I've already been 'caught' by a Trainer a few years back, when some kid decided that he ought to have an ultra-strong Pokemon. Kid had my Lusterous Orb, too."_

            _"I remember him,"_ Dialga recalled. _"He released you only after he'd defeated the Elite Four, correct?"_

            Palkia nodded. _"Sorry, Maria, but I'm going to have to turn your offer down."_

 _"However, I myself am curious,"_ Dialga admitted. _"It would be an honor to journey with you."_


	39. Chapter 39

            Maria settled into her seat, watching the stage for when the Contest wears going to start. True to her word, she had shown Amy around the Contest Hall, and where the Poffin House was, so that she could enter and have a good look around. Black, who had been forced to enter his Simipour and Serperior into a few performances he called "Musicals" by his friend Bianca, was sitting next to her, looking rather bored. Sally, Scarlet and Julie-Su were sitting nearby in the same row, along with Sonic and Knuckles, who looked like they wanted to rush out of there the first chance they got. Brendan was nowhere to be seen.

            "Hello, everybody!" a man wearing a brown fedora called. "I'm Dexter, and I'm going to be one of the three Contest Judges for today's Normal Beauty Contest. Let's meet our contestants!"

            The curtains pulled back to reveal four figures up on stage, each standing with a Pokemon.

            "First we have Mimi and her Pachirisu, Pachi!"

            A little girl in a blue dress with a yellow bow curtsied while the little Pokemon waved.

            "Next, we have Curtis and his Kadabra, Magic!"

            A boy with purple hair wearing a tux looked around calmly while his Kadabra levitated.

            "Third is James and his Chimecho, Echo!"

            A young man with blue hair wearing a tailored suit smiled happily at the audience while Echo flew around him in a circle.

            "And, finally, we have a new Coordinator on the scene: Amy Rose and her Wigglytuff, Puff!"

            Amy, in her regular outfit, waved to the crowd, Puff standing next to her with a slightly excited look on his face, ears straight up.

            Dexter chuckled. "Of course, I'm not one to forget the judges now, am I?"

            "No!" the crowd responded. Obviously, they came here often.

            "Let me start with are more frequent judge, Kira!"

            The Trainer who Maria and Scarlet had assisted their first day in Harthome ran out onto the stage with a Lopunny, much to the two Trainers' surprise.

            "And, our guest-judge-of-the-day, all the way from the Hoenn Region, is Brendan Birch!"

            Brendan walked out calmly, a purple-and-white cat-like Pokemon trotting along beside him.

            Maria chuckled. "So he did keep his Delcatty around!"

            "First is the Appeal!" Dexter told both the audience and the contestants. "Dress your Pokemon up and get the most cheers out of the audience! I shall be the final voice on the matter."

            Amy and the others nodded, and then the curtains closed.

            "What do you think she's gonna do using the stuff in your Fashion Case?" Black asked Maria.

            The Trainer shrugged. "As if I'd even know what goes on in that Mobian's head. All I know is she's into fashion and her hammer." She grinned. "And I'd hate to be the one on the wrong end of that thing!"

            "Time's up!" Dexter called out. "You kids had better be ready. First up is Mimi's Pachi!"

            The curtains opened, revealing the Pokemon...who was sitting on a log, holding a mushroom in her paws, a flower behind one of it's ears and a scarf the color of its blue fur on its tail. Oddly enough, the Pokemon also seemed to be sparkling.

            "A bit too few Accessories, in my opinion," Maria muttered. "However, I must admit that little Mimi did her best to show a Pokemon's beauty in the wild." She pointed to the blue scarf on the Pokemon's tail. "I think that scarf is actually a Beauty Scarf. It's supposed to make a Pokemon more beautiful, but it all depends on how the Pokemon wears it."

            The curtains closed.

            "Next, Curtis' Magic!" Dexter declared.

            The curtains opened again, revealing the Kadabra, who was floating, suspended...over a mushroom. It wore a bow around its neck, and also seemed to sparkle as the Pokemon kept an Iron Ball suspended in mid-air using Psychic.

            "Shows off the Pokemon's strength," Scarlet remarked. "This kid seems to be pretty smart."

            "However, this isn't a Tough Contest, or a Smart Contest," Maria reminded the Mobian.

            The curtains closed.

            "Third, James' Echo!" Dexter called.

            The curtain opened again, showing the Chimecho, shimmering with glitter, a blue bow tied right above the long, ribbon-like appendage on the Pokemon's body. What looked like a flower crown adorned its head, around the bell-like object that the species of Pokemon was known for.

            Maria nodded in approval. "That's how it's done. I wonder why this James kid isn't in the Super Contest level?"

            The curtains closed for the third time.

            "Fourth, Amy's Puff!" Dexter finished.

            The curtains opened for the final time, revealing Puff, who had blue bows on the tips of his ears, a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and a bright white gem in the other, his fur shining from the brushing that Amy had given him.

            Maria chuckled nervously. "O.K., so I didn't have all that much in there. It still works, though."

            "Puff doesn't look very happy up there," Black noted.

            This was true; Puff had a rather uncomfortable look on his face.

            "Maybe he'll feel better after he loosens up a little in the next round," Sally murmured. "Did you say something about doing some sort of dance, Maria?"

            Black shot the Trainer a look of surprise as she nodded. "Yeah; a follow-the-leader type of dance where you have to follow the lead Pokemon until it's your turn; then you can come up with the most difficult dance routine that you want. Then it's the last round, where you show off your moves. Originally, it had been a battle where you showed off the Pokemon while taking out the competition, but Brendan caused a bit of an accident when he borrowed Kyogre - a giant, blue killer whale - from me and brought her into a Contest. Completely shorted the electrical system when her ability, Drizzle, came into play. The audience wasn't very happy when they got drenched, either."

            Black chuckled at the thought.

            The curtains closed a fourth time as Dexter said, "The next activity features the Pokemon dancing at the Trainer's direction, with their decorations still on. It can be done, even with a tree log."

            The audience laughed.

            "He speaks the truth," Maria muttered to the others. "It looks a bit funny, but it can be done."

            The curtains opened again, revealing all four Pokemon with their Trainers and all of their accessories. Up in front was James and Echo, which didn't come as a surprise to Maria.

            "It just means that he got the most points from the audience for the accessories," Maria explained. "Echo's dance moves are the ones that are going to be mimicked first."

            As the music came on - a simple, quiet orchestral piece - Echo started to drift around calmly, moving to the left and to the right to the beat of the music. The other Pokemon swayed in the same way.

            Then the music started to pick up it's pace, and Echo began to move almost like a flying ballerina, doing little jumps and elegant spins. Pachi, much to the Mobians' surprise, was able to keep up, even though the Pokemon was sitting on a log. In fact, all it did was dance on top of it. Magic did very little in the way of dancing - it swayed to the music, spun in place, but did not move all over the stage like the others did. As for Puff, he really got into it, mimicking Echo's path across the stage as well as it's movements.

            When the music stopped, the Pokemon changed places, and Pachi was in center stage with its log. The music was a Celtic tune this time, and Pachi instantly started doing some sort of tap dance, the Pokemon's feet moving so fast they were almost a blur. Mimi danced beside the log, her feet moving in something of an Irish jig.

            Puff had a bit of a hard time with this one, and because Pachi was moving so fast he kept up as best he could, only without mimicking every move the leader's feet made. Magic and Echo hardly moved, however, seeing as they did not have feet to do the dance with.

            For a second time, the music stopped, and the audience applauded enthusiastically, including a few whistles. The Pokemon switched places again, Puff and Amy taking center stage this time.

            "Let's see how they do after an act like that," Maria muttered to Scarlet. "I doubt that the two of them will be able to follow an act like that with as good of a reaction."

            The music started slowly, almost like Echo's. Puff swayed to the music, his ears keeping time while his feet helped him keep balance. Amy stood beside him, her arms moving kind of like a conductors would. As the music became even slower, she lifted her right foot ever so slightly.

            Amy's foot slammed to the floor with a _bang_ as the music suddenly changed, becoming a rock and roll tune that was solely instrumental, with an electric guitar playing the melody. She and Puff whirled around the stage at high speed, moving as one, while the other Pokemon and their coordinators tried - and failed - to follow.

            "Live and Learn," Maria murmured.

            Black cast her a curious glance. "You know this song?"

            Maria nodded. "Yeah; it's a boss battle theme for this game that I played once, called Sonic Adventure 2. This song is played during the final climax of the game, when Sonic and Shadow are fighting this huge lizard that was trying to pull a satellite down to the planet."

            "You saw us do that?" Sonic asked, surprised.

            "Yeah; I was as surprised as you when Shadow vanished and wasn't seen again for a while. As I said, though, this was played during that final fight. I don't know where Amy got her hands in the music, but I think it fits in well with the routine."

            Scarlet nodded in agreement. "I'll say. Look at them blow away the competition!"

            As the music came to a stop, Amy and Puff stopped center stage, Amy with one hand on her hip and the other making a piece sign. Puff had his arms crossed across his chest, and he was grinning hugely. As the audience gave them a standing ovation, the two moved to the back as Magic and Curtis moved to the front.

            After Puff's and Amy's performance, Magic's dance seemed to lack a lot. The music was a techno beat, but all the Pokemon did was move the Iron Ball in its possession around the stage. There was also an eerie humming that seemed to be directed toward the judges.

            Maria paled suddenly. "I don't like the sound of that hum," she remarked.

            Scarlet shook her head in agreement. "It sounds like a machine is clogged or something."

            Black looked over at the judges' stand, which was located at balcony hight above the entrance. "Something's happening to the judges," he noted. Everyone turned to look in order to see for themselves.

            Dexter, Kira, and Brendan were moving in odd ways, stretching their arms above their heads and moving in generally odd angles.

            Maria jumped out of her seat. "He's using Hypnosis!"

            Black frowned. "People fall asleep when they get hit by Hypnosis, don't they?"

            "Most do, but not all. There are some who are hit with minor seizures." Maria started to reach for a PokeBall, when someone in the back of the auditorium let out a scream.

            Heads turned in alarm as a ball of purple electricity shot out from the back of the stadium and hit Magic, causing it to fall onto the ground, knocked out. Above, the strange movements subsided.

            Maria relaxed, a grin on her face. "Oh, good. It's about time he and I met up again."

            The rest of the group stared over at the entrance. There was a tall figure, wearing a black clack large enough to cover its features. It looked over in their direction.

            _"Meet me in the clearing to the west of here, near the Berry Master's home,"_ the figure said quietly. Then it turned and walked out.

            The Mobians and Black looked at each other in confusion, while Maria chuckled. She sat down, the grin still on her face.

            "Who was that?" Black asked Maria.

            "An old friend of mine," Maria replied calmly. She looked up at the stage, where a pair of backstage workers were dragging Curtis and his KO'd Pokemon offstage.

            "I do wish that Bevin wouldn't keep coming back," Dexter called from the judges' stand. "His disruptions are becoming quite annoying. If anyone sees that redhead again, tell him he's been officially kicked out of this Contest Hall."

            The rest of the Contest went without any interruptions of any kind, though Sonic and the others kept giving Maria curious glances. When it ended, Amy was the one to get the blue Beauty Ribbon - her dance was what hit home for everybody.

            "So, what was it that threw that electric ball?" Amy asked as they left the Contest Hall.

            "Maria knows, but she won't tell us," Scarlet replied. "He asked to meet us near the base of Mt. Coronet."

            "Before we go, though, I think we should get Shadow, Eggman, Tails, and the others from the Pokemon Center," Maria remarked. "They're going to want to meet him, too."

            Knuckles gave her an odd look. "What do you mean by that?"

            Maria smirked. "You'll see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to have something in here that involved the Contests somehow. The reaction to Hypnosis thing is a headcanon of my own, as well.


	40. Chapter 40

            They walked into the Pokemon Center, where Eggman and Tails were talking about something technological, but Tails was a bit more nervous than the Overlander, considering how long they had been enemies. Gear was off to one side, hovering next to a small, steel Pokemon with claws at one end of its body and a sphere with an eye on the other. Shadow was off to one side, leaning against the wall, with Snarl at his feet. Magenta and Keith were nearby, talking about Chaos Energy and its uses. Kate, Kellyn, and the two Lucario had already left.

            "Hey, guys," Maria greeted as she walked over.

            "Hey, Maria!" Tails replied. "How'd Amy do?"

            "I won!" Amy replied boldly, motioning to the blue Ribbon that was now pinned to Puff's white chest fur.

            "And some stranger saved me from an untimely death at the hands of another coordinator," Brendan added.

            Seeing the look of shock Tails was giving the Trainer, Maria explained quickly, "Brendan has a bad reaction to the move Hypnosis. Someone threw an Electro Ball at the Kadabra that was using the move in the Contest Hall, saving him, as well as two others."

            "Well, that's a relief. Did you get a good look at the guy who did it?"

            "He was wearing a black cloak, so we didn't get a very good look," Scarlet explained. "However, Maria seems to know him."

            Maria nodded. "Yes, I do admit that I know him. He actually asked to meet us to the east of here, near the base of Mt. Coronet. You remember - where we all landed after getting off Spear Pillar?"

            The others nodded.

            "Let's get going, then," Maria stated. "I don't think he's going to want to wait for very long."

            "What makes you say that?" Eggman inquired.

            "You'll see."

            Maria's friends exchanged glances, then followed her out of the city.

            When they had reached the clearing, Maria called out, "We're here!"

            On the edge of the clearing, a bush rustled.

            _"I could hear you coming as soon as you left the city,"_ the figure stated as he stepped out of the trees. The hooded head turned and looked at each of the Mobians in turn, stiffening when it caught sight of Eggman.

            "Relax, he's been rebuked," Maria stated calmly. "Silver and Palkia decided to put their heads together in the past."

            The figure nodded. _"I was aware of their little plan, and I hope that it succeeded."_

            Eggman shuddered at the sound of the figure's voice, which was full of anger. "We haven't even met before! Why are you angry with me?"

 _"On the contrary, Doctor, we_ have _met."_

            The figure threw off his cloak, revealing that he was, in fact, a large, cat-like creature colored in different shades of purple. His hands had three fingers, each ending in a ball for one reason or another.

            "Guys, meet Chaos, the 'water god of destruction,' " Maria introduced. "In this world, he is also known as Mewtwo, the clone of Mew."

            "Chaos?" Sonic repeated. "No way."

            _"Says the hedgehog who has made friends with the gods of this world,"_ Chaos noted with a smirk. _"It's been too long since our last encounter."_

            "I'll say," Sonic remarked. "So, what happened? Last time I saw you, you were going off who-knows-where with Tikal."

            _"Ah, yes. Well, after that happened, it almost felt like no time had passed before we were out again, in this new world. Sometime during our unexpected travel out of the dimension, Tikal was transformed into this little water creature, with some sort of sack on the top of her head. There were others nearby, too, and they introduced themselves as Phione."_

            "I suppose you decided to leave her with them in Miracle Sea, then?" Maria guessed.

            Chaos shook his head. _"I didn't leave her. I was taken by the currents to another place. From there, time seemed to warp, and I was sent into another dimension, where I met Aurora, who was now in the form of a Mew."_

            "Think of her as a pink, floating cat with a long tail," Maria explained to the Mobians and Eggman.

            _"Yes, well. After she had explained to me who she was and what had caused her transformation, she explained to me that I had been placed in a strand of her DNA that had become fossilized. Apparently, there had been plans made for me before I had come here."_

Tails nodded, getting where Chaos was going."That's where the whole 'clone of Mew' thing comes in, right? A group of scientists made you what you are now, right?"

_"Correct. However, I didn't particularly like them for what they did at first. Their lab no longer exists."_

            Everyone shuddered at the thought.

_"After that, I wandered the world, considering my options and trying to get used to this physical form. For the first week, I tried to swim off the lab's island, only for me to eventually realize that I could just fly using my newfound psychic power. Within a year, I had reached peak performance, and I had started to challenge Exploration Teams, for the challenge."_

            "That's when I first ran into him," Maria explained. "Pika and I had accepted one of the Challenge Letters he had sent out, and we went to meet him. We beat him, and he decided to join up with us in order to become stronger."

            _"And I did,"_ Chaos confirmed. _"You don't learn Electro Ball, Shadow Ball and Aura Sphere overnight, you know. Even Psystrike didn't come very easily."_

"That's because you had to train in order to get all the way to Level 100," Maria reminded him. "Was there any specific reason why you left the Guild to find us?"

_"Well, I left originally because I had sensed that the Chaos Emeralds were being used. When the trail of Emerald Chaos Energy ended, I followed the residue Energy on Sonic and came here. Along the way, I did run into a few friends."_

            Merlin, Lien, and Jewels came out of the trees and waved.

            _"We figured that, as long as we're in the area, we can thank you kids for helping us out up there,"_ Jewels explained.

            _"Also, there's a bit of an explanation that I had in mind,"_ Merlin added. He floated over to Tails, who gave the Pokemon a curious look.

            "Explain about what?" the two-tailed fox inquired.

 _"Our names,"_ Lien replied. She floated over to Julie-Su and Knuckles. " _I've been called Lien, but really, it's Lien-Da."_

            Julie-Su's eyes widened. "Lien-Da?" she repeated. "As in, DEL Lien-Da?"

            The Pokemon in front of her nodded.

            Maria chuckled. "I should've seen that one coming from a mile away. Try to guess why Merlin's called Merlin."

            Merlin's head moved to look in her direction, and his mouth contorted, making it look like he was extremely annoyed. _"Must you say things like that? It's unbecoming for a Pokemon Champion."_

            "On the contrary - I've seen Champions who have performed worse."

            Tails' eyes widened. "Uncle Merlin?" he asked tentatively.

            The Pokemon in front of him let out a sigh. _"Would you believe me if I said yes?"_

The Mobian looked at Merlin in shock. "What happened to you? Last I checked, you were a Mobian Fox."

            _"When Palkia fused our worlds together, some Mobians were transformed. I believe that it might have something to do with one's connection with the Chaos Force, but Lien-Da, as far as I know, does not have such a connection."_

"But Athair, Aurora, and Tikal were transformed, so that could have something to do with it," Maria pointed out. She grinned at Brendan. "Athair is Knuckles' great-grandfather, but you know him better as Groudon."

            Brendan looked at her in surprise. "You mean the Ground-Type Legendary that almost destroyed Hoenn thanks to Team Magma?"

            "That's the one!"

            Knuckles shot Maria a look. "Athair? Almost destroy an entire civilization? I doubt it."

            "Says the echidna who once went crazy because of his newfound Chaos powers," Maria replied without batting an eye.

            Sonic chuckled, then looked over at Jewels. "Maria said your name's 'Jewels.' does that mean you're -"

 _"No, I'm not your father,"_ Jewels replied calmly. _"However, I did know him. You should be honored to have a brave soldier like him as your father, Sonic."_

            The cobalt hedgehog's chest swelled up with pride. "Thanks! So, how'd you get your name?"

            _"Believe it or not, Kneecapeon Mace gave me this name, because of the red jewels on my forehead and tails,"_ Jewels explained. _"Maria brought it back up when I joined her Guild, because I live in a cave filled with crystals."_

            Knuckles laughed. "Kneecaps? Really? Last time I saw him, he was only a year old!"

_"He was five when he found me."_

            The Mobians' and Eggman looked startled.

            Sonic and Sally exchanged glances. "I wonder how everyone's doing," the hedgehog remarked.

            "I wouldn't mind seeing my brother again," Sally agreed.

            Merlin looked over at Lien-Da and Jewels. "What do you think?"

            _"It could be done,"_ Jewels remarked after a moment. _"However, we would need someone who can manually open a Passage of Time."_

            Maria grinned as she reached for a blue PokeBall with red stripes at certain points. "Celebi isn't anywhere nearby, so how about Dialga?"

            Jewels nodded. _"He'll do."_

            "I still can't believe you caught him with a Great Ball," Brendan muttered quietly.

            Maria smirked. "You're just jealous." She tossed the Great Ball into the air, releasing the Dragon/Steel Type.

            Dialga looked around, taking in his surroundings and the crowd. He then caught sight of Chaos. _"Ah. Greetings."_

 _"Greetings,"_ Chaos replied coolly. _"The Mobians want you to open a Passage of Time."_

 _"To see their families again,"_ Merlin added.

            Dialga nodded. _"Of course. If you'll give me a moment."_ The gem on his chest began to glow brightly.

            "Give him some space, guys," Maria warned. "You don't want to get caught in a time vortex."

            The Mobians, Eggman, Black, Brendan, and the Pokemon moved back with Maria, giving Dialga a clear space to create the portal.

            The Legendary Pokemon let out a roar, and a sky blue-tinted portal appeared in front of him, right next to Chaos. The Mewtwo jumped away as the portal increased in size and showed a picture in the other end - a calm city with plenty of trees and other vegetation decorating the street shown. The residents pictured included three blue hedgehogs, three brown-furred Mobians with long, fox-like tails (one with an eye patch, the second with a crown, and the third in a dress), a red, female echidna with a little one of about six beside her, an Overlander with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing overalls, and a large group of Mobians behind them that looked like the figures seen on the Lake Caves walls.

            Dialga stepped to one side and motioned to Sonic. _"Stick your head through and invite them over into this time,"_ he suggested. _"It would be best if they got to meet who you are hanging out with."_

            Sonic nodded. "All right, then." He walked over to the portal and boldly stepped through.

            The reaction from the crowd was instant. They crowded around him - or, at least, tried to. Two of the hedgehogs discovered the portal when they accidentally stuck their arms through. Everyone gave Sonic odd looks, only for the hedgehog to launch into an explanation.

            After about a minute, Sonic stepped back through the portal. He grinned at the rest of the group as the others followed suit. First through was one of the hedgehogs. This one was wearing a purple dress with matching shoes, and her fur was a shade of indigo, except for the yellow spurt coming about the top of her head and falling forward over her blue eyes.

            "Mom, this is the group of friends I've been hanging out with," Sonic stated. He pointed over to Chaos. "You remember Chaos, right? The giant water monster that attacked Station Square?"

            The hedgehog looked over the Pokemon, a frown crossing her face. "That doesn't look like a water monster."

            _"That's because I was turned into something else,"_ Chaos replied.

            "Hi!" Maria greeted, waving a little. "My name's Maria."

            The hedgehog smiled at her and did a small curtsey. "Hello. I'm Bernadette, Sonic's mother."

            "Sonic's mom?" Paul repeated, hopping over. "You're not even as tall as he is!"

            "Paul, don't be rude!" Maria retorted. "Mobians grow up and mature like humans do, not Pokemon."

            The Pidgeot looked sheepish. "Sorry."

            Sonic smirked. "Mom, this is Paul, the Pokemon that I've partnered up with. He's a Pidgeot."

            Bernadette nodded. "I see." She caught sight of Brendan and Black, then looked up to see Dialga. Her eyes instantly widened. "And that is?"

            "Dialga, the Pokemon that represents the flow of time," Maria replied calmly. "The two boys are Brendan and Black. They're Pokemon Trainers, like me and your son."

            A metallic hand came down on Sonic's shoulder from behind. He turned quickly to see the two other hedgehogs grinning at him.

            "Something tells me you've got a long story to tell," the metallic hedgehog remarked.

            Sonic grinned. "You've got that right, Dad. Come on; let's move clear of the portal so that everyone else can see what we've been up to."

            The three hedgehogs moved off to one side, Sonic talking all the while about his side of the adventure, and the three brown-furred Mobians stepped through next.

            The Mobian with the eyepatch spotted Tails and pointed to him, helping the female in the red dress identify him. Tails caught sight of them, as well.

            "Mom! Dad!" he exclaimed, running over to them. Gear hovered a few feet behind him as the three Mobian foxes wrapped themselves in a group hug. Meanwhile, the other Mobian had caught sight of Sally, and had her in a hug, as well.

            Just then, the rest of the Mobians on the other side of the portal poured through. A large group of them surrounded Knuckles and Julie-Su, including three echidnas, a green, skinny Feraligatr, two small bugs, a red creature, a purple lizard, and a yellow Mobian with a long tail like a Pachirisu's. The Overlander had Shadow in a hug, which he didn't shake off, much to Brendan's and Black's surprise. Amy was being greeted by a sea-green furred hedgehog wearing a green cloak and with a quiver of arrows over his shoulder.

            A silver hedgehog came over to Maria, who instantly recognized him.

            "You're Silver, the hedgehog from the future, right?" she inquired.

            Silver nodded. "Yeah, that's me. And you are?"

            "Maria White, the Pokemon Trainer who knows everything about anything and doesn't actually belong in this world," Maria explained.

            Silver raised his eyebrows at this. "Everything about anything, huh? What do you know about my teacher?"

            "Mammoth Mogul, AKA Ixis Mogul, the prehistoric Mobian who had a Chaos Emerald embedded in his chest. Was someone who wanted to be an annoyance to Sonic, but after an event referred to as the Ixis Resurgence, he had a change of heart. In the bad future, he was a teacher to you, because he wanted you to become a Knight of Chronos, which Sonic has said you did."

            Silver stared at Maria for a moment, then nodded. The Mobian looked around at the crowd, then up at Dialga, who was looking down at the whole thing with mild interest. "You mind introducing me to some of your friends?"

            "Not at all," Maria replied with a grin. "Come on, let's go find Scarlet."

            They walked into the crowd of Mobians, Maria leading the way as she looked for her friend. Eventually, she spotted her, Keith, and Magenta talking to the blond Overlander and Shadow.

            "Hey, guys," Maria greeted as she came up.

            "Hey, Maria," Scarlet replied. "Who's that with you?"

            "This is Silver, the Knight of Chronos that Palkia mentioned on Spear Pillar when he was talking about Eggman." Maria pointed to Magenta, Scarlet, and Keith as she continued, "Silver, these three are Magenta, Scarlet, and Keith, otherwise known as Midnight."

            "Hey," Silver greeted. "You're not from my time, aren't you?"

            Scarlet shook her head. "Nah. We live in this time period."

            "We used to be human, too," Magenta added.

            Silver looked surprised. "How -"

            "Finitivus," Keith replied flatly. "I'm glad that the International Police took him into custody, along with Jupiter and Mars."

            Silver looked over at Shadow in confusion.

            "Sub Bosses," Shadow stated. "Their leader was taken to another dimension." He glanced at Maria. "I seem to recall there being another sub boss."

            Maria frowned, then nodded. "Yeah; Saturn. I didn't see him up on Spear Pillar, come to think of it." Her eyes widened. "Stark Mountain! Of course!"

            "Stark Mountain?" Keith repeated.

            Maria nodded. "It's a summer home for one of my friends, a Pokemon called Heatran, or Steel. From what I recall, there's going to be an attack there by Team Galactic. However, the only way for us to get over there is if I beat the Gym Leader of Sunnyshore City and become Sinnoh's Pokemon Champion. Then I get access to this Region's Battle Frontier."

            "But you're already a Champion in other regions," Magenta pointed out.

            "That means anything unless I'm trying to access something in a region I'm already Champion of," Maria explained. "It's probably going to take him some time in order to gather everything together in order to go after Steel. From what I recall from the games I've played, I had the National Dex and had defeated the Elite Four by the time I had arrived at Stark Mountain, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

            "You sound like you've been through all of this before," the Overlander noted.

            "That's because, in a way, I have," Maria replied. "I come from an entirely different world that watches all of the others and what events they go through. In fact, I've played a game where the events that are taking place now have been recorded." She smirked. "Same goes for what Shadow's gone through."

            The Overlander frowned. "I don't think that anyone knows more about Shadow than he himself does."

            Maria shrugged. "That's probably true. You're Hope Kintobor, right? Sister to that sniveling kid that Eggman calls an assistant?"

            Hope looked surprised. "Yeah, that's me. Did Shadow -"

            "Nah. I've known for awhile. Nice work on the Flame Shield, by the way. I was kind of wondering where those came from in the first place."

            Hope's jaw dropped. "You know about that?"

            Maria smirked. "Comic book Sonic Universe, Issue 38. Eggman's looking for Snivelly while he's talking to you about getting rid of Eggman, then taking over the world. After you forced him to leave, Omega tried to comfort you, but he admitted he wasn't really made for that kind of thing."

            Shadow's gaze went from Maria to Hope, who was dumbfounded.

            "How much more do you know about us?" Hope asked.

            "The ARK, Black Doom, your family's Robotosization, and that Snively's first name is actually Colin Jr. I also know that Dr. Eggman is the second Robotnik that Sonic's had to fight, seeing as the first one was torn to atomic pieces by his own invention," Maria listed. "And, in some cases, that's just the tip of the iceberg."

            Scarlet's eyes widened. "Wow. How much time did it take you?"

            "A few months, I should think." Glancing at Silver, she added, "Eggman claims he's reformed after his little trip through space, but I've still got a bit of an uneasy feeling about him."

            "Where is he?" Silver asked, looking around.

            Maria looked out over the crowd of Mobians and humans. "Over there. He's standing all by himself, next to Dialga and his Beldum."

            "Thanks!" Silver rose up using his psychic abilities and flew over to where the Overlander stood.

            Hope frowned. "How did Eggman get here? Silver told us he was taken to another Zone."

            "He was," Magenta confirmed. "Finitivus had him taken out of that place when he was using the Red Chain on Palkia."

            "Red Chain? What's that?"

            _"An ancient device, created in order to control strong Pokemon,"_ Jewels explained as he floated over. _"It's a lot more painful than a PokeBall, and not something I would recommend that you replicate, Hope."_

Hope nodded. "Okay, then. But, what's a PokeBall?"

            "This," Maria replied, removing an empty an empty PokeBall from her backpack. "They're devices used to help you cement your bond with a Pokemon. Tails has probably had enough time to take one apart and put it back together." She handed the sphere to Hope, who instantly pulled out a screwdriver and began to take it apart.

            Shadow sighed, then looked at Keith. "I suppose you're wondering about your Chaos abilities."

            The hedgehog in front of him nodded. "Magenta makes it sound so easy."

            "It can't be much harder than when I summon a Fire Sphere," Maria remarked. "All I do is build up power, then release it."

            Shadow shook his head. "It's not that simple with Chaos Energy. You have to actually have a connection with the Chaos Force, not just the ability to...whatever you can do."

            Maria shrugged. "All right, then. I'm not really interested in using Chaos Abilities, anyway."

            "Hey, Maria!" Sonic called. "How about you show everybody the friends you're made?"

            "Sure!" Maria replied. She grabbed the five PokeBalls that were still on her belt. "Come out, everybody!"

            Leon, Machoke, Luke, Star, and a reacquired Sparks appeared, looking around at the Mobians.

            "Guys, this is my Pokemon Team, including the embodiment of time towering over us," Maria called out to the Mobians staring at the sudden appearance of the Pokemon. "First is Leon, my Starter, and a Pokemon generally referred to as Empoleon. Next is Machoke, the muscle behind the team. Third is Luke, a Lucario. He can see your Cores, or Auras, as clear as day whenever he wants to. His Aura Sphere is a force to be reckoned with. Fourth is Star, a Staraptor; she could easily carry any one of you from here to Snowpoint City easy. Fifth is Sparks, a Luxray, and also the kind of Pokemon who could easily give you a good zap if she wanted to. And then there's Dialga, the embodiment of time, who's responsible for the Passage of Time that connected the past and the present. I've got other friends, but I'm only allowed to bring six Pokemon with me at a time." She grinned.

            "So, where did you find these creatures?" asked the purple walrus standing next to Tails and his family.

            "They're as common as pets," Brendan replied. "In this time, they live all over the place - in the forests, seas, on mountains. Everywhere. I guess you could say that Pokemon are as common as mud."

            "Not Pokemon like Dialga, though," Maria pointed out. "He's one of a kind."

            A small echidna - possibly seven or eight years old - came forward cautiously. He was wearing a shirt with the Chaos Emeralds surrounding the Master Emerald that had a sky blue background, with jeans and sandals. He wore gloves like Knuckles', only without the spikes. He seemed to be watching Sparks, staring at her with wide, blue eyes.

            Maria knelt down and looked at the little echidna in his blue eyes. "You can pet her, if you want."

            The echidna looked at her, obviously nervous. "She won't bite me?"

            "Unless you decide to pull her tail or try to provoke her, no, she won't." Maria nodded to Sparks, who lay down so that the echidna would have a better chance to stroke her fur. "Go ahead; she won't mind."

            The echidna inched closer to he Pokemon, who pointedly ignored him so that he wouldn't get scared because she was looking at him. Hesitantly, he reached out and began to stroke Sparks. Her tail twitched a little, recognizing the touch of a person. However, she didn't move from her position on the ground. This made the echidna a little more bold, and he started to pet her with a little more confidence. Much to the echidna's surprise and Maria's amusement, she also started to purr.

            The echidna giggled. "Why is her name Sparks?"

            "It's because she can shock people whenever she feels like it," Maria replied. "If you're not too careful, she could shower you with her sparks, too." She chuckled. "Don't worry, though. She won't do it unless you're threatening her, me, or any of my friends."

            The echidna walked around to look Sparks in the face. "What makes a friend, in her eyes?"

            "Someone who fights the bad guys and defends what's right and cares for their friends, I guess." Maria looked the echidna over. "You're Kneecapeon Mace, right? Knuckles' little brother?"

            The echidna nodded. "Yup! That's me. When did you run into him?"

            "About half a week ago, give or take two days. Have you seen Vent yet?"

            Kneecaps nodded. "It feels kinda funny, when I hear him talk in my head."

            "That's called telepathy," Maria explained. "It's pretty rare among Pokemon - only the rarest kinds can use it. Like Vent, who's a Lucario, like Luke here. Legendaries, like Dialga, and some Psychic-Types, like Nicole, can use it, as well."

            "Why do they have to use it, though? Can't they talk?"

 _"We can,"_ Luke confirmed. _"However, very few can understand us when we do. Some, like Maria and Sonic, hear us speaking in English. Others, however, hear us speaking in grunts, growls, and variations on our own names."_

            "Oh," Kneecaps said. "I think I get it." He looked around. "How many other friends have you made?"

            "Loads. If I could put on a number on them, I'd have to say about...400, maybe? I've never really kept track." Maria shrugged.

            "400?" Kneecaps repeated. "That's a lot!"

            "Well, I should think so! I'm including all of my Pokemon friends in the number. They number to over 300 alone."

            "Over 300?" Scarlet repeated. "When did you get the time to make all those friends?"

            "You'd be surprised at how many friends one can make in seven years," Maria replied with a grin. Her grin suddenly faded as she started to scratch the back of her head, a frown forming on her face.

            "Something wrong?" Sparks inquired.

            Maria didn't answer for a moment, then said, "I'm picking up some traces of magic."

            "Magic?" Kneecaps repeated. "Don't you mean Chaos Energy?"

            "No, I mean magic. Thanks to my previous excursions, I've gained the ability to sense whenever someone who uses magic is in the area." Maria's scratching increased. "It's pretty faint, but it feels like the portal magic I used to get here originally. We'll probably run into whoever it is eventually." She suddenly let out a sharp cry and grabbed her shirt, revealing that there was something underneath, which seemed to be flashing between red and blue. "Grrrgh..."

            "Maria!" Scarlet exclaimed in alarm.

            "I'm fine," the Trainer replied through gritted teeth. "That was my 'Dimensional Scream' ability acting up again."

            _"What did it show you?"_ Chaos inquired.

            Maria looked at the group of Mobians around her. "Team Galactic is preparing up for a final attack on Sinnoh. In Sunnyshore." She pulled out the item she had been gripping from under her shirt, revealing it to be a glowing blue crystal. "We've got some time before it happens, I think."

            "We should cut them off at the pass, then," remarked one of the two red echidnas standing near Knuckles.

            Maria shook her head. "It's not that simple. After our attack on their headquarters, Cyrus, Mars, Jupiter, and Charon had taken some of the Galactic Grunts to Mt. Coronet. Wanna bet that Saturn managed to gather the rest together and is going to try and get back at what we managed to do?"

            "What if you went back to their HQ?" a small bee with an aviator's hat inquired.

            "It's going to be completely abandoned. No team inhabits their HQ long after their boss has been defeated. Trust me - I've looked."

            "How long before we should leave?" Magenta asked.

            "We should probably leave the area and head to Pastoria in an hour or so. Then, the next day, we can head out to Sunnyshore on foot. It's not very far from there."

            The Mobians looked at each other, trying to take it in.

            "Do you think we could help out?" Hope asked.

            "You'd have to ask Dialga on that one," Maria replied, motioning up to the Dragon/Steel Type. "What do you think, Dialga? Can they help out, or are they going to have to go back to their own time?"

            Dialga looked down at the group, considering as he noticed the families that were together in groups. _"What are your thoughts on this, Silver?"_

Silver looked a little startled at being asked by the Pokemon, but then frowned as he thought over the problem. "Well, we don't want anyone in our time to get any ideas about doing things from this time a bit too early," he finally stated.

            The Mobians looked at him as he continued to think, then at each other, wondering what he was planning on doing.

            "However, I don't believe that anyone is going to want to leave their friends so quickly," Silver continued. He looked up at Dialga. "How long can you keep that portal thing open?"

 _"Not much longer,"_ the Pokemon replied. _"It takes a great deal of energy to open one up, and it would take me one, maybe two days at most to build up that energy."_

            Silver nodded. "So, if you, say, closed it now, and opened one up later, it could work, right?"

            Dialga seemed to see where Silver was going with this. " _It's not quite that simple. If I wait for that long, a large amount of Mobians are going to be gone from the past for at least that amount. I'm afraid those who weren't pulled into this time originally are going to have to go back."_

The Mobians sighed collectively.

            Maria smiled sadly. "Oh, well. Looks like this is it."

            "I guess so," Kneecaps agreed. "You'll still be my friend, though, right?"

            "To the future and beyond," Maria replied with a grin.

            The two echidnas who had been talking to Knuckles then came over to Maria, careful to avoid angering the Pokemon.

            "Knuckles mentioned that something seemed to happen up on the mountain," the female echidna remarked.

            Maria nodded. "Yeah; some guy named Cyrus wanted to completely rewrite the universe, and we stopped him. He wasn't that tough, seeing as everyone else was in Super form and freeing Palkia from the bonds that had been placed on him." She looked the two echidnas over. "By the way, you two are Lara-Le and Wynmacher, right?"

            The two echidnas looked at each other. "Well, yes," Lara-Le replied. "But how did you -"

            "How did I know? Where I come from, almost every single adventure that Sonic and Knuckles go through is recorded in one way or another. For instance, their encounters with Enerjak, and the Dark Egg Legion."

            The married couple exchanged glances.

            Maria smirked. "Did I forget to mention that I know about your team-up for the first time? When Knuckles and Wyn rescued Lara-Le from the dingoes? He commented on your tackle, and you said that you'd played varsity."

            Wyn's eyes widened in surprise. "You know about that?"

            "Yup."

            "What else do you know about?" Lara-Le demanded.

            "Not much," Maria admitted. "Sonic would be the Mobian I know the most about, I guess. But, even there, he's got his secrets."

            "So do we all," Wyn agreed. "I take it, then, that you know just about as much about Pokemon?"

            Maria smiled ruefully. "I know as much as I can learn," she admitted. "Which is a lot, but not everything. I'm missing two Pokemon from my mental database, as well as a whole Region's worth."

            "How many Pokemon are there?" Kneecaps asked.

            "I think that there's 640 discovered species of Pokemon," Maria replied.

            "640?" Magenta repeated. "That's a lot of Pokemon."

            "And it also means my Browser's incomplete," Scarlet added.

            "Well, Ranger Browsers only hold data on Pokemon that live in the region the Ranger is stationed in," Maria remarked. "So, no, it's not incomplete. However, if you went on a journey as a 'DexHolder,' it would be a completely different matter."

            Scarlet and Magenta exchanged glances.

            "How do you know about that?" Scarlet asked with a frown.

            "I've played video games as a Pokemon Ranger before," Maria admitted. "Just two, though. They dealt with the Almia and Oblivia regions."

            Scarlet sucked in a breath. "So that's how you knew about the Styler charging stations! You've been to their locations yourself!"

            "In a way, yes," Maria admitted. "I've also fought Team Dim Sun and the Pokemon Pinchers, completed all the Quests available to me, and completed the Browsers. And then I did it all over again."

            _"Maria, I'm afraid that I won't be able to keep the Passage of Time open for much longer,"_ Dialga warned. _"All those who belong in the past are going to have to leave."_

            The Mobians looked at each other, then practically dog-piled on those who were going to be staying. Maria, Scarlet, Midnight, and Magenta somehow remained on the outside, since they weren't really related to any of them. Instead, they stood near the Passage of Time, watching the commotion.

            Silver came over first, Eggman and his Beldum, Metal, with him.

            "I've talked with him, and he's decided that he's going to stay here," Silver explained to Maria. "Start a new life as a Trainer and mechanic."

            "All right, then," Maria stated. "You just make sure to stay away from trouble, Eggman. Otherwise, you'll probably be attacked by a tsunami's worth of Trainers defending their homes."

            Eggman nodded. "After what had happened in that...other place...I wouldn't mind keeping away from that sort of thing for a long time."

            "And, just so that you know, Metal there is going to take a while to evolve. I suggest that you try to actually build up a team, too; Trainers can have six Pokemon at most with them. You can find them almost anywhere, but you're going to need PokeBalls if you're going to make any Pokemon a part of your team." Maria went through her backpack and removed five basic PokeBalls. "You can start with these."

            Eggman nodded and accepted the items, then moved off to one side to clear the path to the Passage of Time.

            Maria then looked at Silver. "I suppose that you're going back, right?"

            Silver nodded. "That's right; someone's got to protect the past and thereby protect the future. Besides - I have a Time Stone with me, so I can come and visit you whenever I have the need to."

            Maria smiled. "Well, it was great to finally meet you. If anything happens here, I'll make sure that Dialga sends a message."

            "Thanks; I'd really appreciate it."

            With that, Silver stepped through the Passage of Time and back into the past.

            Next to come forward were a coyote in a red and blue uniform with blond hair and a rabbit in a cowgirl outfit.

            "You are Maria, yes?" the coyote inquired.

            Maria nodded. "That's me. And you two are Antoine and Bunnie D'Coolete."

            "Sure are, sugah!" Bunnie replied with a smile. "Is it true that y'all saved the world before?"

            "Yeah; from Kanto to Sinnoh and the other side of the world. I've done a large amount of traveling, but this recent event has to be the biggest save yet. I mean, we stopped a guy who was going to recreate the universe, and I wasn't gonna let him."

            "And you didn't," Antoine added.

            "Keep an eye on Eggman, will ya?" Bunnie inquired. "I wouldn't trust him anymore than I'd trust a snake."

            "Don't worry; Eggman's being watched by one of my friends. That floating metal bar-like Pokemon is called a Beldum, and that one's specifically named Metal. If anything goes wrong, he'll be sure to tell me."

            "Good," Bunnie said with a grin. "If he starts acting up, find us!" The Mobian couple then walked back to the past.

            The next group to approach was the Chaotix.

            "So, you're Scarlet, right?" a red armadillo inquired, looking at the mentioned Mobian.

            Scarlet nodded. "And you are?"

            "I'm Mighty," the Mobian replied. "Knuckles said that you had his abilities."

            "Well, I at least have his knuckles," Scarlet admitted, showing her spikes to the group. "I also have Sonic's speed and Tails' flight abilities."

            A green crocodile let out a whistle. "I wouldn't mind if you came with us back into the past and joined the Chaotix," he remarked.

            "She can't, Vector," Maria replied dryly. "She belongs in this time, just as you belong in yours."

            Vector looked the human over. "Yeah, well, your little performance earlier and your talk of magic doesn't exactly fit here, either."

            Maria smiled and nodded. "That's because I don't actually live here, either."

            "Where do you live, then?" a purple chameleon inquired.

            "On an entirely different world," Maria explained. "There, I have access to technology and reading material that tells of a lot of the events that happen here. For instance, I'm aware that you almost told your friends something you shouldn't have, when they were invited to have an audience with the Bride of the Shinobi Clan, Espio. It sounded like you were about to say 'mo-"

            "I get it!" Espio interrupted. "You don't have to say it."

            Maria smiled. "All right. If you say so."

            The other Chaotix members gave him curious looks, only for the Mobian to become invisible. A moment later, the Passage of Time rippled, as if someone had gone through it.

            "I've gotta figure this out," Vector declared, going after Espio.

            "W-w-wait f-for me!" a yellow squirrel added, jumping through the portal.

            Mighty signed and shook his head. "I'm not going to let them have all the fun. What do you say, Charmy, Saffron?"

            "We'd better go after them," Saffron agreed. "Let's go, Charmy!"

            With that, the three Mobians went through the portal.

            The third group of Mobians to come forward were Lara-Le, Wyn, and Kneecaps.

            "Take care of Knuckles, will you?" Lara-Le asked.

            "Knuckles can take care of himself, ma'am," Maria replied. "Besides, he has Vent with him, now, and Julie-Su, too. I'm sure they're going to be fine."

            "Still, I'm going to worry about him..."

            "As every parent would," Maria amended. "However, you have to trust him to lead his own life. Knuckles knows what he's doing."

            Wyn nodded. "We'll keep that in mind. Come on, Mace - let's go home.

            Kneecaps nodded. "All right; let's come back and visit sometime."

            With that, the family of echidnas disappeared into the past.

            The next to approach was the sea-green hedgehog who had been talking to Amy.

            "Rob O the Hedge?" Maria guessed as he approached.

            The hedgehog nodded. "And you are the fair maiden who knows all about these creatures of the future?" he inquired.

            "Well, all that can be known presently," Maria admitted. "The Little Planet hasn't been discussed in the news lately, so no one really knows about it."

            "Shhh!" Rob hissed. He looked around urgently, then glared at Maria. "No one must know about that place. How didst thou learn of it?"

            "A video game, called Sonic CD, which involved Sonic going to that place," Maria explained. "I suppose he actually hasn't yet, has he?"

            Rob shook his head. "If he had, the Little Planet would show on it's surface that someone had been there."

            Maria cocked her head. "You mean, like, one sort of aura in the shape of a certain hedgehog's head? Or, maybe, a continent shaped in that way?"

            "Perhaps." The hedgehog shrugged. "So long as my family guards it, no one will set foot on that place without our knowing it."

            "That's good to hear."

            As Rob went back to his time, the purple walrus and Hope approached.

            Hope handed Maria the PokeBall that she had given her. "Thanks for letting me have a look at that. I don't think I should take it back with me, though."

            Maria nodded as she pocketed the object. "It was great to see you guys in person."

            "Really?" the walrus inquired.

            Maria nodded. "Before my first journey away from home, I never thought that I'd be able to see or hear of your adventures beyond what I read about. But now, it's like I'm living the life practically everyone dreams about back home: hanging out with you guys."

            Hope giggled. "Do you mean that?"

            "Of course I mean it!" Maria replied with a grin. "As soon as Sonic and the others start journeying around with me, I knew things were going to to be awesome."

            Hope smiled. "Well, I'd better get back. Omega is going to want to know how Shadow's doing. Too bad I couldn't find Rouge, though..."

            "She's probably got some sort of mission from the International Police," Maria remarked dismissively. "Beryl's with her, too."

            The walrus grunted. "I'm not surprised. Those two are like peas in a pod."

            The three laughed.

            "So, I heard you found Finitivus," the walrus remarked.

            Maria nodded. "He's been taken into custody by the IP, so he's not too much to worry about. As a bonus, he's trapped in a human's form, too, so no Chaos magic from him."

            "He's a human?" Hope repeated, startled.

            "Yup. An old man, to be precise."

            The walrus looked surprised. "Wow. Never expected that to happen, least of all to Finitivus."

            "Neither did I, Rotor," Maria admitted. "I wasn't expecting it when Nicole was transformed from a computer made of nanites to a Psychic-Type Pokemon, much less a Gardevoir."

            Rotor nodded. "I'm going to look into this and figure out what may have caused this."

            "And I'll help when I can," Hope added. The two walked back into the past.

            The next - and final - group to approach consisted of Sonic, Tails, Sally, and their family members.

            "Sonic told me about how you took down Naugus," the brown-furred Mobian next to Sally told Maria. "If anything just as powerful existed back when he was only just staring to become a problem, he wouldn't have bothered anyone in this time."

            Maria shrugged. "Once in a while, it's good to have someone powerful come along and challenge a Pokemon's power, Elias. I'm glad that Jirachi was able to test his strength against Naugus, because he was having too easy a time with his other opponents. Now that we're almost up against the Elite Four, he'll be having a lot more of those moments."

            "And Zap and I are going to be doing the same, but first we're going to build up a team," Scarlet added.

            "Same here," Magenta agreed.

            "It's good to have goals to look forward to, at least," the Mobian fox with an eyepatch remarked. "I suppose you're thinking of the same, Tails?"

            The two-tailed fox nodded. "Of course, Dad. I'd like to build up a team like Maria has."

            "And he's got a pretty good chance of getting a strong team, too," Maria remarked. "Gear is already about Level 50, so he's got one Pokemon that's halfway there. It shouldn't take very long to get up to Champion Level."

            Tails ginned. "Really?"

            "Well, sure!" Maria replied with a grin.

            Tails' father (known as Amadeus) looked down at his son, smiling. "Well, good luck, Miles. We'll be cheering you on from the past."

            Maria looked over the Mobians and exchanged glances with Dialga.

            The giant Pokemon sighed. _"Yes, I can open a Passage of Time in a few days, before you go to challenge the Elite Four, Team Galactic or no."_

            Maria nodded in approval. "Thanks, Dialga. I really appreciate it."

            Jules, the robotic hedgehog, looked Maria over. "You know quite a lot about these creatures, don't you?"

            Maria nodded.

            "Sonic mentioned that there was another giant Pokemon up on that mountain...Palkia, right?"

            Maria nodded again. "Yup; he's the Pokemon that is capable of warping space itself."

            "Warping space?" Charles repeated. "That can't be possible."

 _"It is,"_ Chaos confirmed. _"Maria was transformed into a Pokemon because of a teleportation accident, and Palkia turned her back into a human when she wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer. It was a piece of cake for him."_

            Sonic thought for a moment, then looked at his dad. "Maybe we could ask him to turn you back to normal in such a way that you won't die, Dad!"

            Jules gave his son an odd look, which was hard to decipher because of his robotic features. "You think he'd do that for me?"

            Sonic nodded. "Well, yeah! I mean, we rescued him from Team Galactic, so he probably wouldn't mind returning the favor."

            Maria frowned slightly. "Well, I don't know if you should be asking the Palkia of this time. If the planet fusion is complete, you might find him in the past, making his home either I'm a ravine or on top of a mountain like Mt. Coronet, if I had to make a random guess. If you tell him your predicament, I'm sure he would be able to help you out."

            _"He'll probably make you do some sort of task to prove your worthy of the transformation, if he is still as I remember him at that time,"_ Dialga recalled. _"Just a warning."_

            Jules nodded. "Thank you." He looked at Maria. "We'll make sure to let everyone else know about the portal opening in a few days time."

            "Thanks; I'd appreciate it."

            "See you later, Dad," Sonic said as he gave his dad a hug.

            "See you later, son," Jules replied with a smile. He looked at Elias. "Let's go home."

            With that, the groups reluctantly parted, the Passage of Time vanishing as soon as the last Mobian went through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how Chaos/Mewtwo's present appearance and situation works; it just does to me. Same goes for Eggman and that place he was attempting to run away from (more on that particular area in one of my later fics)


	41. Chapter 41

            Maria looked at her remaining companions. "Well, we'd better get going. Sunnyshore isn't going to wait for us, y'know."

            "How do you plan on getting there?" Sally asked.

            Scarlet pulled her map out. "According to this, Sunnyshore is reachable only by a path from a resort that Maria and I passed through some time ago - the one by Lake Valor. We can get there by either flying down to Pastoria or north to Veilstone. What do you think, Maria?"

            Maria frowned and thought for a moment. Finally, she said, "You guys can fly down to Pastoria, if you want. I'm going to head there on foot. I haven't done that yet, and there are some Trainers down there who would actually help me with my PokeDex a little. It probably won't take me more than an hour or so."

            Tails frowned for a moment. "You know, we actually haven't been able to actually explore Sinnoh all that much. How about I take the Tornado to Sandgem and let Professor Rowan keep an eye on it for a while? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

            Maria nodded. "All right; I'm send Star with you so that you can find the way back."

            _"Or, I could just teleport myself and the biplane to Sandgem,"_ Lien-Da pointed out. _"I was planning on heading back to Lake Verity, anyway. Besides, he is going to want to know about what had happened on Mt. Coronet."_

            Knuckles frowned. "And you're going to tell him the truth?"

            "Relax, Knux - I've worked with her a lot during my time as a Vulpix," Maria told him. "Besides - she doesn't have any connection to the DEL anymore, remember? No more cybernetics."

            _"If it makes you feel any better, I'll go along with her,"_ Chaos added. _"I have to see Professor Rowan about some business, anyway."_

Maria looked surprised, and Tails nodded. "Sure, Chaos. What do you need to talk to Rowan about?"

            _"The Mobian race in general, actually. It should assist him in his research."_

            "In that case, you'd better take this with you," Scarlet remarked. She removed a PokeDex from her jacket and gave it to Tails. "If you guys are going to fill him in, this is what I decided to put in from my own experiences."

            Tails nodded and accepted the item. "I won't be gone long," he promised.

            _"I think I shall come along, as well,"_ Merlin remarked. _"I wish to meet Professor Rowan in person."_

"That's fine with me, Uncle Merlin," Tails stated.

            "We'll be waiting at the Pokemon Center for when you get back," Maria told him.

 _"Or, you could just continue on and meet him in Pastoria,"_ Jewels pointed out. _"Lake Valor, my home, is nearby. If I go with you guys, I can transport Tails and me straight to the city."_

            "Good idea," Sally remarked. "All right, we'll meet up in Pastoria. See you later, Tails."

            Tails nodded. "Follow me, guys; I know where the plane is." He trotted off, followed by Lien-Da, Jewels, Merlin, and Chaos.

            Once they were gone, Maria recalled her Pokemon, then nodded to the others.

            "Let's move out." She tossed a Great Ball over to Eggman. "That's for Metal, by the way."

            Eggman nodded. "I was wondering why you only gave me five and you said a Trainer could have six."

            Maria smiled. "I was going to get to that. Of course, all of you are going to need Trainer licenses eventually. We can talk to either Professor Rowan or Nurse Joy about that."

            "We should probably contact him before we get to Sunnyshore," Sally remarked.

            "Yeah; we could do that back at the Pokemon Center, in Pastoria, or now, if you want. I do have his number."

            "As do I," Scarlet added, holding up her PokeGear.

            "We should probably do it while Tails is at the Prof's lab," Sonic stated.

            Scarlet nodded and hit Prof. Rowan's speed dial. We didn't have to wait long before the other spend of the line was picked up.

            _::Yes?::_

            "It's Scarlet again," Scarlet identified. "I'm calling about getting a Trainer's license for me, Magenta, Keith, Eggman, and the other Mobians."

_::Ah. I figured you might have need of those. I have plenty here that can be used. All I need are your full names. First and last would suffice, and then, of course, your starter Pokemon::_

            "O.K. Let's start with me, then. You ready, Professor?"

_::Indeed I am_ _::_

            "All right. Scarlet Igel - that's I-G-E-L. And my Starter is my Pachirisu, Zap."

            There was silence on the other end, but it was momentarily. _::Next one?::_

            "Magenta Igel," Magenta said into the PokeGear. "Same spelling. My Starter is Drake, who's a Salamence. He used to be a Bagon."

            "Keith Midnight Hasse," Keith stated. "And that's H-A-S-S-E. My partner is Zel, a Floatzel. Used to be a Buizel."

            Maria smirked as Sonic frowned. "Another one of those odd names. Your last name means 'rabbit.'"

            Keith frowned. "Rabbit? How can you get that out of my last name?"

            "I think I can explain," Maria replied. "Back on my home world, there is more than one language, so it's expected of us to learn at least one language before we leave school. There's one language in particular that I actually happen to like, and it's called _D_ _eu_ _tsch_."

            "German," Sonic translated.

            Maria nodded. "Apparently, there's some of it in this world's past, too, because your last names are German."

            Scarlet snorted. "Well, that certainly clears things up."

            :: _Indeed_ _::_ Professor Rowan agreed. _::Is there anyone else who is hoping to get a Trainer's License?::_

            "Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic stated. "My Starter's Paul, a Pidgeot. Used to be a Pidgey."

            "Knuckles the Echidna," Knuckles continued. "Vent, Lucario. Was a Riolu."

            "Sally Acorn," Sally added. "Nicole, Gardevior. Was a..." She looked at Maria. "Ralts, right?"

            Maria nodded in confirmation. "Right."

            "Shadow the Hedgehog," Shadow stated. "Snarl, Mighteyna. Was a Poocheyna."

            On the other end, a familiar voice came on. _::Miles Tails Prower, Gear, KlingKlang. Was a Kling::_

            "Julie-Su," Julie-Su continued. "Maggie, Mismagius. Was a Misdreavus."

            "Amy Rose," Amy stated. "Puff, Wigglytuff. Was a Jigglypuff."

            Maria looked over at Eggman. "It's your turn, now."

            Eggman huffed. "I'm fully aware of that." He paused. "Julian Ivo Eggman Robotnik. Metal, Beldum."

            :: _Did you just say 'Eggman'?::_ Professor Rowan repeated.

            "We found him up on Spear Pillar, after Charon managed to summon him from another Zone," Maria explained in passing. "The place was bad enough that it put him into reformed mode."

            :: _But we're still going to keep an eye on him::_ Tails added from the Professor's side of the conversation. :: _At least until he's proven that he's really changed::_

            Rowan let out a sigh. :: _All right, then. Is that everyone?::_

            "Well, Rouge and Beryl have Pokemon of their own, too, but they're with the International Police, so they're probably already registered," Maria recalled. "So, yeah, that's everybody."

_::Very good. I'll send these with Tails, then. You can pick them up when you get to Pastoria::_

            "Thanks, Professor," Scarlet said.

_::It was no problem on my part. Farewell::_

            As Scarlet pocketed her PokeGear, Maria smiled. "Well, we'd better get moving. Team Galactic's attack isn't going to be waiting until we get there, you know."

            The other Mobians nodded.

            "Let's move out," Sonic declared.

**Spacial Break**

            Saturn was furious. His squad of grunts had failed to inform him of the events that had transpired on Spear Pillar, and when a grunt who had only barely escaped from that place stepped forward and explained what he had seen, the Commander had almost thrown the grunt across the room and into Charon's workbench. To think that a mere girl had been able to raise a small army and stop Team Galactic schemes without any problems irked him. And Mars and Jupiter getting arrested was even worse!

            Saturn glared at the grunt in front of him. The battered man, with holes torn in his uniform from who-knows-what, was trembling as he awaited whatever punishment the Commander had in mind for coming back with this news and not telling him until now.

            As Saturn thought about what to do with the grunt, another thought came to mind. There was still a chance that they could remake the world. However, it was going to take a large amount of energy, a lot more than what the Windworks could put out. And the only place to get that much energy was...

            The grunt became terrified as a small smile appeared on Saturn's face. Expecting his punishment to be one that would involve a lot of pain, his trembling increased.

            Saturn looked at the grunt, the smile disappearing as quickly as it had come. "What are you doing?"

            "Expecting my punishment," the other replied.

            Saturn sighed, a look of annoyance crossing his face. "I'm not going to punish you. On the contrary, I'm going to promote you."

            The grunt stopped trembling and looked up at Saturn in surprise, not believing what he had heard.

            "From now on, you are to be known as Mercury," Saturn continued. "Gather what remains of our grunts together; we move out tomorrow for our next target."

            "Next target?" the newly rechristened Mercury repeated.

            "Sunnyshore City."

            Mercury's eyes widened, then he saluted and ran off.

            Saturn chuckled to himself after the ex-grunt was gone. "This is going to work out perfectly."

**Spacial Break**

            Maria took a deep breath through her nose, allowing the scents of the Great Marsh to penetrate her senses. "I think I'll take another visit to the Great Marsh."

            "Oh no you don't," Scarlet replied. "You looked like some sort of mud monster after you went through the last time, and we don't have the extra time to let you take a shower."

            Maria made a face. "Oh, come on! There's nothing wrong with looking for more Pokemon, is there?"

            "No; just right now it is."

            "I'm kind of curious about this place," Sally admitted, looking around.

            Maria grinned. "The Great Marsh is basically a Nature Preserve, only you can go in and catch up to thirty Pokemon if you pay five hundred Poke. The last time I was here, I only managed to get three, because they have your visit timed. It keeps the place from overcrowding, but also from becoming a complete wasteland."

            "What sorts of Pokemon are in there?" Sonic asked.

            "There are a lot of Water-Types - specifically Maril, Psyduck, Golduck, and Azumaril - as well as Budew and Roselia, which are Grass and Poison, and then there are the rarer ones, like Skorupi, Wooper, Quagsire, and Carnivine. If you're lucky enough, you might even find Pokemon from other regions, like Kangaskhan, which is a Pokemon version of a kangaroo."

            "That's a pretty diverse population, for just one place," Knuckles remarked.

            "You should see the other Safari Zones in the other regions!" Maria replied. "Hoenn's has Pokemon from Kanto and Jhoto in it, and they actually aren't native to the region."

            "Unova doesn't have a Safari Zone," Black remarked. "I think I'd better check this out."

            "Later," Scarlet stated. "We've got to get to Sunnyshore!"

            "Speaking of which, where's Tails?" Sonic asked, looking around. "I don't see him."

            "Hey, guys!"

            Heads turned as the two-tailed fox ran over, Gear floating beside him and something on his back.

            "Hey, Tails," Maria replied. "We were just wondering where you'd gone off to."

            "What's on your back?" Julie-Su inquired.

            Tails grinned. "Just another friend I picked up. Her name's Vanessa." He turned around to show us the Pokemon.

            On his back, clinging to a brand-new, yellow backpack, was a golden Vulpix.

            Maria smiled. "That's so cool, Tails! Where'd you find her?"

            Tails turned back around to face the group as he took his backpack off. "There were a couple kids making fun of her and throwing stones at her because of her color. I came around at just the right time, and she hid herself in one of my tails. I figured out about it only after I'd bought the backpack from the PokeMart."

            Vanessa looked around at the Mobians and humans warily, then backed up so that she was standing in front of Tails.

            Maria got down on one knee. "You don't need to be afraid," she told the Pokemon. "We're Tails' friends."

            The Vulpix didn't look like she was convinced.

            Maria let out a sigh. "All right, then. I'll try a different tactic." She looked down at her left hand and it burst into flames, causing Vanessa to let out a gasp of surprise.

            "You see? I'm not like the other humans," Maria told the Pokemon. She held her hand out to her. "Go ahead; test the flames. You'll see that I'm telling the truth."

            Vanessa looked at Maria in astonishment, then crept forward slowly. When she had reached Maria's burning hand, she sniffed it cautiously.

            The other Mobians looked on in confusion.

            Vanessa looked up at Maria, confusion in her eyes. When Maria smiled back, the Vulpix then rubbed her head against Maria's left hand, causing the flames to dissipate.

            "What was -" Sally started.

            "Flash Fire," Maria replied. "It's an ability that some Fire-Type Pokemon have. They absorb fire attacks and power up their own. Comes in handy when you're fighting a Magmar who wants your head."

            Vanessa looked at Maria with wide eyes. "I know, right? I mean, we even have the same abilities, and they still insist on using Fire attacks!"

            "Magmortar and Flareon are worse," Maria replied. Much to everyone's (except Sonic's) surprise, she spoke in Vulpix language.

            Vanessa's eyes became larger. "You speak my language!"

            "Of course I can," Maria replied in her native tongue. "I was turned into one by accident about six years ago. The name's Maria, and these are my friends Sonic, Sally, Knuckles, Julie-Su, Shadow, Scarlet, Magenta, Keith, Brendan, Black, and Eggman. Of course, you've already met Tails."

            "And these are our Pokemon," Sonic added. "Paul, Vent, Nicole, Snarl, Maggie, Zap, Zel, Drake, and Metal. And then, of course, there's Gear, Tails' buddy."

            Vanessa looked around at the group with a new boldness. "It's nice to meet you all!"

            "Same here," Paul agreed. "Do you want to travel with us?"

            Vanessa cocked her head. "You would let me? Even if I look funny?"

            "Hey, Tails is an oddity because of his two tails," Maria pointed out. "You'd be more than welcome to join up with us."

            Vanessa frowned, thinking it over. She looked up at Tails. "I'll join you, but only after a few conditions are passed. First, Tails as to prove himself as a Trainer. Second, I travel with him, not anyone else."

            Maria nodded. "Okay. Tails, you gotta do the Trainer thing - battle Vanessa using Gear, then throw a PokeBall in her direction." She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a black PokeBall with gold around the button. "This is called a Luxury Ball. I suggest using this one on Vanessa."

            Vanessa's eyes widened. "Are you serious? You're going to let him use one of those?"

            "Why?" Maria inquired. "Do you have a problem with that type of Ball?"

            The Vulpix shook her head. "It's just that they're so rare!"

            Brendan smirked. "The Master Ball is rare, and Maria seems to have a habit of finding the ones that pop up." He chuckled.

            Tails looked at Gear. "You ready?"

            "As always," the Pokemon replied.

            "Then let's go!" Vanessa barked, getting into a battle stance. Everyone moved back as Gear did the same.

            "Inferno!" the Vulpix called out as she summoned red-hot flames and blew them in Gear's direction.

            "Gear, use Mirror Shot!" Tails called out. "Try to blind her!"

            Gear fired off the shot through the attack, taking massive damage from Vanessa's attack. However, he did manage to score a hit.

            "Gah!" Vanessa exclaimed as the move hit her in the face. She continued to use the move Inferno, but she wasn't hitting anywhere near where Gear was floating.

            "Now, use Signal Beam!" Tails continued.

            "Signal Beam?" Brendan repeated. "But that's a Bug-Type move, isn't it? How much affect would that have on a Vulpix?"

            "It also confuses the opponent," Maria explained. "That's why he's using it."

            Black's eyes widened. "And he's counting on that part of the move to kick in?"

            "Seems like it."

            Vanessa shook her head as the multi-colored beam hit her in the face, like the last one. She opened her eyes only a crack and began to chew on her foot with a vengeance.

            "Keep off!" she growled.

            "She's Confused," Brendan confirmed.

            "Now, finish off with a Charge Beam!" Tails called out.

            Vanessa's ears went up, and she moved to one side as the electricity came barreling at her.

            "Again!"

            This time, the move actually managed to hit Vanessa dead on, causing her to fly backward and hit a tree.

            "Now, Tails!" Maria called out.

            The two-tailed fox nodded. Then he threw the Luxury Ball at Vanessa. It hit her stomach, turning her into a red light and sucking her into the Ball. It then fell to the ground and began shaking. One. Two. Three.

_Click._

            Tails grinned, triumphant. "All right!"

            "Nice job, Tails," Maria congratulated. "How about you let her out? I do have plenty of Hyper Potions on hand."

            Tails nodded. "Sure." He tossed the Luxury Ball, releasing the Shiny Fire-Type.

            Vanessa looked up at him and grinned. "Gear's strength is awesome! I can't wait to start training with you."

            "Neither can we," Maria agreed.

            "What sort of moves do you know?" Tails asked Vanessa.

            "Let's see... Inferno, Extrasensory, Faint Attack, and Flamethrower."

            Maria repeated the list to Tails, then removed an Oran Berry from her red backpack and gave it to Vanessa, who ate it hungrily. Tails, however, was already starting to strategize on Vanessa's present move set.

            "So, do you have the ID cards from Professor Rowan?" Scarlet asked Tails.

            Tails jumped a little at the sound of her voice, since he had been strategizing at the time. "Right! They're in here." He unzipped his backpack and removed cards of multiple colors and handed them out. "Professor Rowan said to keep them on hand at all times."

            Sonic found an emerald-green card with his name on it. "So, what's with the number?" he asked.

            "That's a Trainer ID number," Brendan explained. "Every Trainer has one. It helps them keep track of their Pokemon."

            "Really?" Sally stated, looking over a sky-blue card. "I suppose it might allow you to have certain privileges, as well?"

            "Having an ID allows you access to tournaments that take place all over the regions," Maria replied. "You're going to need one if you ever want to be a Pokemon Champion, as well. No one's allotted into the Pokemon League unless they have proof that they're actual Trainers."

            "There are some people who try to make fake IDs, though," Black remarked. "The last kid that was caught claimed that he was the Kanto Champion, but everyone knows he went up to the top of Mt. Silver and hasn't come back down since."

            "He doesn't even like to show himself to those who try and climb up to him, and those to whom he does never hear him speak a word," Brendan added.

            Maria smiled to herself, but didn't say anything concerning what Brendan had said. "So, are we going to head to Sunnyshore, or are we going to explore the Great Marsh first?"

            Scarlet shot Maria a cold look. "I thought you said that Team Galactic was going to attack Sunnyshore. We ought to get there before they arrive."

            Vanessa looked at Scarlet in confusion. "Team Galactic?"

            "A group of people who were originally planning to rewrite the universe," Maria explained in passing. "We took care of them not too long ago up on Mt. Coronet. Now all that's left is one Commander who is most likely trying to exact his revenge."

            "Then we'd better get going, like Scarlet said! Who knows what these guys might be capable of doing?"

            Maria looked at Sonic, who nodded in agreement.

            "All right, then," Maria remarked. "Let's get going." She looked up at the sky and took note of the sun's placement. "...Tomorrow."

            "Tomorrow?" Keith repeated with a frown.

            "The sun's already begun to set, silly! It wouldn't take very long before it goes down completely, and the Resort at Lake Valor doesn't have any extra rooms. We'll have to stay at the Pokemon Center for the night." She grinned. "In the meantime, who's up for exploring the Great Marsh?"

**Spacial Break**

            "Well?" Saturn asked impatiently.

            "We're working around the clock, sir," the grunt replied. "However, we can't find the location of either Charon or Cyrus."

            Saturn gave the grunt a rather murderous look. "And the others?"

            "Not far from here - Lake Valor."

            Saturn smiled mischievously. "They aren't going to be coming our way anytime soon. Start putting things in motion. This city must be ours before they arrive."

            "Yes, sir!"

            The grunt dashed out of the room, leaving Saturn alone with his machines.

            Thanks to Charon, Team Galactic had built many secret facilities all around Sinnoh, such as the one Saturn was now hiding in. Out of all the facilities, this one had to be the most unknown about and the hardest to find, even by the team's standards. Oddly enough, it was also the last functioning base that the group had. Saturn considered himself lucky that no one had found the base just yet.

            Saturn turned to look at the computer, where he had some information on-screen about a certain Trainer. To think that they actually allowed such information into the international database was unsurprising.

            The Galactic Commander, now a Galactic Boss, scrolled through the information. _Maria White, adopted child of Silvia and Sylvester White... Champion of Kanto, Jhoto, and Hoenn... Completed PokeDexes of said regions..._

            Saturn glared at the computer. "None of this is helping," he muttered. "There's nothing concerning her education, her battle skills..." _Her strange ability to control fire..._

            Saturn shook his head. There wasn't anything to explain such a phenomenon - it was impossible to have a Pokemon's abilities, and even if it were, she would have had to have gone through some sort of genetic experiment to cause it to happen. An experiment that they would have heard about. However, after that idiot of a girl managed to take out not only their main headquarters, she had also let the International Police do what they had wished to their systems!

            Saturn let out a growl and slammed the keyboard out of frustration. If only Cyrus hadn't let that girl intrigue him so! Curse that Maria!

            Saturn paused in his mental rant. "Wait a minute..." He typed a few things into the database and discovered something that caused his eyes to widen. Ah. So that's why she seemed so confident the times I saw her. This might be a little harder than I had thought.

            Saturn frowned, considering what he had just learned. "If she's stopped others like us before, her intelligence is most likely on par with Cyrus himself. I wonder..."

            "Sir?"

            Saturn's head turned to face the grunt in the doorway. "What is it?"

            "Everything has been prepared, sir. What are your orders?"

            Saturn smiled ruefully. "Begin the next phase."


	42. Chapter 42

            Maria let out a loud yawn as she sat up and stretched. Because Julie-Su and Magenta had joined the group, the Trainer had opted to sleep on the floor with the extra blankets, rather than keep up any of the extra space. Scarlet and Magenta had taken over one of the top bunks, allowing for Sally, Julie-Su, and Amy to have the others for themselves and their Pokemon. Zap, Drake, and the other Pokemon the group had befriended, had slept in one of the infirm rooms that had been unused. Nurse Joy had allowed it, since she was used to such things occurring, but insisted that the Salamence have a PokeBall that he could stay in if the need arose. Maria had given Magenta one of her Great Balls to use. She was going to give Shadow a Ball, as well, but he revealed that he had bought a Dusk Ball for Snarl already, so she gave Julie-Su a Friend Ball for Maggie instead, and a Dive Ball for Zel to Keith.

            Scarlet looked down from the top bunk. "Morning," she said through a yawn.

            "Morning," Maria repeated. "How'd you sleep?"

            "That was probably the best sleep that I've had in ages," the Mobian replied. "The fact that my sister is safe makes me sleep much more easily now."

            There was a laugh. "Same here," Magenta agreed. She sat up and looked down at Maria. "So, we're going to Sunnyshore, right?"

            "That's the idea," Maria replied, getting out of the blankets. She started to fold them up as she continued, "I'm going to make a quick stop at the Resort before we get to the city, though. The restaurant there encourages battling with the customers."

            "Really?" Amy inquired. "They allow you to do that?"

            Maria nodded. "The food's great, too, but that's nothing compared to the people who eat there. It's a great place to restock on cash, too, so I'm glad for that."

            "Why do you have to fight Trainers in order to gain money, anyway?" Sally asked. She jumped down from the top bunk as Amy slipped out of the lower one of the two.

            "As a Trainer, it's practically the only way to gain enough to take care of your Pokemon," Maria replied. "There are some people who have jobs and be Trainers in their free time, but the majority of the Trainers out there make money by defeating other Trainers." She placed the blankets on the desk and picked up her backpack, swinging it over her shoulder. "Sonic is probably up by now. Let's go find him before he decides to out on a run and leave us in the dust. I'll go have a look around, and we'll meet up in the cafeteria."

            Maria found Sonic with the groups' Pokemon, talking about the Legendary Pokemon that lived in the world and their abilities.

            "So, Giratina's world is what this world would look like if Cyrus had his way, then," Sonic guessed.

            Sparks nodded. "And Cyrus, as you already own know, is there with Giratina. Hopefully, staying there will make him see the light."

            "I think that all depends on whether or not he can actually get through to him," Maria remarked from the doorway of the room. "Cyrus had said that he wanted a world without spirit, one that he could rule. If the Distortion World was all that he actually wanted, I'm sure Giratina can and will find some other way to torture him."

            Sonic turned his head. "Hey, Maria. Knuckles, Tails, Brendan, Keith, and Black are in the cafeteria. I finished off breakfast early and decided to come here."

            Maria nodded in acknowledgement. "I sent the others there, too. You guys ready to go?"

            "You bet!" Leon exclaimed. "Are we finally stopping at that restaurant?"

            Maria nodded, causing her Pokemon to cheer loudly in excitement.

            "What are we waiting for, then?" Machoke inquired. "Let's go!"

            Maria grinned. "You just want to get into another fight, don't you?"

            The Fighting-Type smirked. "You know it!"

            The rest of the Pokemon laughed, as did Sonic and Maria.

            After Maria had recalled her Pokemon, she, Sonic, and the other Pokemon made their way into the cafeteria, which was a bit of a hard trip for Drake because he was so large.

            Magenta giggled when she saw the Dragon-Type's dilemma, then recalled him into his Great Ball.

            "So, you guys good to go?" Maria asked with a grin.

            Brendan nodded. "You know, we were actually thinking up a little competition while you were gone."

            "We're going to split up into groups of three, one human Trainer per group," Sally continued. "The first group to arrive at Sunnyshore is treated by the last group who gets there to dinner, and the second group has to surrender 1000 Poke."

            "Which is why you have Brendan, Black, and me as team captains," Maria guessed. "We're the ones who are going to end up paying on that end of the bargain." She grinned. "I don't see why not. Have you already figured out the teams?"

            Black nodded. "Shadow, Keith, Tails, and Eggman are going to be on my team, Knuckles, Julie-Su, Magenta, and Amy are going to be on Brendan's team, and Sonic, Sally, and Scarlet are going to be with you."

            Maria nodded. "All right. Shall we get started, then?"

            "I'm all for it," Sonic remarked.

            Brendan grinned, then dashed for the door of the Pokemon Center, followed by Knuckles, Julie-Su, Magenta, and Amy. Black followed him out with his group not long after, leaving Maria, Sonic, Sally, and Scarlet by themselves.

            "Well, I don't want to be left in the dust," Maria remarked.

            "Nor I," Scarlet agreed, Zap back on her shoulder. "Let's go, before they leave us behind."

            "Right!" Sonic stated. He started to make his way towards the Pokemon Center's entrance, the rest of the group not all that far behind.

**Spacial Break**

            "Volt! Where are you?"

            A red-head looked around the darkened Gym, searching for his friend.

            "He's not here, Flint," one of the statues at the entrance stated. "He hasn't come in since his renovations."

            Flint frowned and folded his arms with a sigh of frustration. "When do you think he's coming back? No one's been to the Pokemon League in ages, and it's starting to get boring without some new flames to spark a battle."

            The statue didn't answer, most likely because he didn't know. Or, even more likely, because he was probably never coming back.

            Flint sighed with annoyance and shook his head. "You'd think that Volt would know better," he muttered. "He would never do something like this." The Elite Four member turned and left the Gym by the main entrance, coming out into the sunlight on the top of a small mountain in the middle of a solar panel highway. Below, the hustle and bustle of Sunnyshore City went on without his notice. Not that Flint really cared - he had other things on his mind.

            Specifically, his friend Volkner, Sunnyshore's Gym Leader.

            Ever since before the blackout, the Electric-Type Gym "Master," as the strongest of the Sinnoh Leaders had been called, the Trainer had started to become bored with fighting the Trainers who had come to challenge his Gym. The last time Flint had seen him, it was obvious that none of the kids who had challenged the Leader proved to be any sort of challenge for one reason or another. Seeing his best friend in a bit of a depression - if it were to be called that - worried and bothered Flint to no end.

            Flint walked off the mountain at a rather leisurely pace, despite his urge to find his friend and get him back in his Gym as soon as possible. What the Elite Four member had said was true - there had been any Trainers to take the Pokemon League challenge, and it was getting boring for the Elite Four, especially for Flint, who practically lived for "fire-hot battles" from younger competition. Volkner, like it or not, had to get back to his job. However, in order for that to happen, he had to be convinced that battles weren't all that boring anymore. And who knew how long that was going to take?

            Flint stopped on the streets at ground level and watched the residents of the city going around their business without so much as a glance up to the Gym. He knew that they were used to its existence, but the thought that such an important building for Trainers could be ignored still unnerved him.

            He had to find Volkner, before it was too late.

            As Flint walked along the city streets, He noticed that something seemed...off, somehow, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Something about the crowds...

            Instantly, the Elite Four member caught sight of the problem, and he ran off to investigate.


	43. Chapter 43

            Sonic came to a screeching halt at the other end of the beach with Paul beside him, sending sand spraying all over an already frustrated fisherman.

            "Hey!" the fisherman called out. "Ya mind? I already can't get a bite, and now you've scared them all away!"

            "Sorry about that," Maria replied for Sonic as she came running up with Scarlet, Zap, Nicole, and Sally. "Sonic just likes to run."

            The fisherman snorted, unhappy that the clouded water had ruined any such chance for a good day of fishing. "Just keep him on a leash the next time you come through here, or you'll face my wrath."

            "I'll keep that in mind."

            As the group got off the beach, Sonic gave the others a sheepish grin. "How was I supposed to know he was having a bad day?"

            Maria shrugged. "You could've run on the main road," she pointed out.

            Sonic shrugged carelessly. "I wanted to feel a different type of traction. It's been awhile since I've run on sand."

            "You do realize that you were right next to the water, right?"

            Sonic smirked. "Yeah, I knew. I wasn't all that close to it, though, so it wasn't all that much of a problem."

            "If you say so."

            Scarlet frowned. "What does being close to the water have to do with anything?"

            Sally smiled. "Sonic can't exactly swim."

            "And I'm not planning on learning anytime soon," Sonic declared.

            Maria grinned, then looked further down the path. "There's the end of the Route," she remarked, pointing to a spot ahead of them. "And it looks like Brendan and Black actually beat us!"

            Sonic looked surprised. "Really? That's impossible!"

            "We probably took more time at that restaurant than Maria had originally intended," Scarlet remarked, sending a glare in the Trainer's direction.

            Maria giggled nervously. "Sorry about that."

            "There you are!" Brendan called as the group approached.

            "We'd thought that, since you had Sonic on your team, you'd end up getting here first," Black remarked.

            "I was the one who held the team up, not Sonic," Maria admitted. "The battles with other Trainers took a little longer than I had originally thought."

            Black and Brendan exchanged glances, understanding her situation.

            "Still, that doesn't let you out of the bargain," Black remarked.

            "I know, I know," Maria replied with a smirk. "Where are you hoping for me to treat you at?"

            "Surprise me," Black replied with a smirk. "Brendan's already paid, by the way."

            Maria nodded. "All right, then. I was considering the Resort's restaurant, but I don't know whether or not you guys want to have Pokemon Battles while your eating."

            "I can multitask," Keith remarked with a shrug. "I don't mind."

            "I dunno," Brendan murmured. "There's probably a restaurant here that we can eat at. Let's go and have a look around in Sunnyshore first, then we'll decide."

            Maria nodded. "Besides, we've got to figure out whether or not Team Galactic has attacked yet, remember?"

            The others nodded.

            "Let's get in there," Scarlet stated.

**Maria's POV**

            As we walked into the city, I instantly noticed that something was up.

            The first thing that tipped me off was how quiet the city was, and I wasn't expecting a place as big as this to be so quiet. And that unnerved me.

            "Something's not right here," Keith muttered from where he stood next to Scarlet. "And I don't like the feel of it."

            "Neither do I," I agreed, looking back at him. "Obviously, something must be going on. Something that we don't know about."

            "Something bad," Black muttered. He pointed to something ahead of us. "Look."

            I turned my head and saw what he meant: there were two Team Galactic grunts patrolling the street, and they looked...different somehow. More like soldiers and less like the weaklings I was familiar with.

            "Saturn's been busy," I noted. "How do you guys suggest that we take them?"

            A Sonic Second later, Sonic and Paul were zooming ahead of the rest of the group, taking out the grunts with an uppercut and what looked like an Aerial Ace. Obviously, Sonic's been teaching Paul some of the TM moves when I haven't been looking.

            "Come on, guys!" Sonic shouted. "We've got an opening to take these goons out!"

            Knuckles, Tails, and the others ran after him. I caught sight of an annoyed look on Sally's face, showing that she was rather annoyed with Sonic for barging in without a plan, as always.

            I turned to look at Brendan and Black. "I guess you guys are going to do the same thing."

            "Pretty much what I was going for," Brendan admitted. "It's been awhile since my Pokemon had done a free-for-all. What do you think?"

            I nodded. "I was thinking along those lines. What do you think, Black?"

            "This could actually prove as a challenge to my team," Black remarked with a grin.

            I grinned back, then grabbed my six PokeBalls and released my team from the spheres.

            Once he was completely materialized, Dialga looked around at the city. Since he towered over most of the two-story buildings that made up the place, he caught sight of the problem rather quickly.

            "We're doing a free-for-all," I explained to my team. "Split up in groups of two and go after the Galactic grunts that are patrolling the city. When you're done with that, find out where their hideout is located; I'm going to guess that it's somewhere nearby."

            "What about you?" Machoke asked.

            I grinned, my hands becoming covered in fire. "I'm not completely defenseless, Champ. Those Galactic goons won't know what hit them."

            The Fighting-Type was a little surprised at my choice of a new nickname, but he gained a determined face and nodded. "Right." He turned to look at the rest of the team. "I'm going with Sparks, Leon can travel with Star, and Dialga's with Luke. Any questions?"

            The other Pokemon shook their heads, then paired up and took off into the city.

            I nodded to the boys, then ran off before they could say anything else.

            Out in the city proper, chaos was the order of the day. The Mobians and our group's Pokemon were taking down the Galactic goons like no tomorrow, but there was still a large amount of them.

            One grunt caught sight of me and ran over, his Beautifly following behind him. "Get that kid with a Silver Wind!" he ordered.

            My eyes narrowed as the Bug-Type prepared the attack, but I knew I wasn't going to have a problem. I powered up and got into a Lucario's stance, which caused the grunt to look at me in confusion.

            "Fire Sphere!" I roared, hurling the ball of fire at the Pokemon. It exploded upon contact with the Bug-Type, which promptly fell to the ground.

            The grunt stared at me, eyes wide in fear. "H-how did you -" Instead of finishing his question, he grabbed his Pokemon and ran off, most likely terrified out of his wits. I didn't bother to chase him, nor did I try to collect any prize money from him - we didn't have a fair Pokemon Battle, so it wouldn't have been right.

            I looked around and caught sight of more Bug-Types being commanded by Team Galactic. I left the ones that were battling my friends alone, and attacked the others with smaller, less powerful Fire Spheres. It was enough to faint the Pokemon and get the grunts' attention.

            "Hey!" I shouted. "You guys looking for me?"

            The grunts turned their heads and, seeing me without any Pokemon (and therefore vulnerable in their eyes), they sent out a couple Golbat in my direction.

            "Blazing Claw!" I shouted as I made a raking motion with my hands. The fire came out of nowhere and burned into the bat Pokemon, like it was tearing their wings to shreds. The two Golbat dropped to the ground and onto their feet unsteadily. I sent two small Fire Spheres at them, causing them to faint.

            "Who's next?" I asked, looking around.

            The grunts with the Golbat retreated, and no others stepped forward, so I simply ran to join the fight. Much to my surprise, everyone avoided attacking me, like they were afraid.

            Or like they were waiting for someone else to fight me.

            I summoned my staff and took out two Golbat with a Lightning attack that I had never bothered to name, followed by an Ice attack that was akin to an Icy Wind move. "Any idea why these guys seem to be avoiding me?" I asked Scarlet, who was at my back.

            "It's probably because you're not using any Pokemon and you're still attacking," Scarlet noted. "Zap! Discharge!"

            I glared at a grunt who was trying to sneak around me and have his Golbat stab Scarlet in the back. "You might be right. I'm an open target and they still avoid me like the plague. Ha!"

            The Golbat was zapped with a decent amount of electricity, causing it and the grunt to retreat.

            "These guys just keep coming!" Sonic noted as he spin-dashed into a Glameow. "Where do you think they're coming from, Maria?"

            I looked around as I continued to zap the Poison/Flying-Types that continued to seemingly come in from nowhere. "There's gotta be a base nearby that they're using. The question is where." I caught sight of a grunt without any Pokemon and pounced on her. "Where are you goons hiding out?" I demanded.

            The grunt stared at me with wide eyes, terrified out of her wits to even see me, much less see me mad.

            I glared back at her. "Tell me where your hideout is, or you'll lose your hair. All of it." I lifted my left hand and it burst into flames.

            The grunt started to shake. When she didn't answer me, I lowered my hand and started to reach for her green hair. When I had almost grabbed even a single strand, the grunt wailed, "All right! I'll talk!"

            "Then talk," I growled. "We need the location of your hideout - the one in the area."

            The grunt swallowed. "There's an entrance below the Pokemon Rock, the one in the bay. It was supposed to be nothing more than a storage facility, but Charon also used it as a private lab."

            I could sense Scarlet stiffening at the mentioning of the Mobian-turned-human.

            I removed my fiery hand from her head and got off the grunt, who retreated into the crowd of grunts that we were attacking.

            "Well, that answers that," I remarked as I got to my feet. "Now to find the entrance in the Pokemon Rock."

            "Where is that, anyway?" Scarlet inquired.

            I pointed out to the bay. "There's a rock in the bay that looks like a Munchlax," I explained. "That's what the people around here call the Pokemon Rock. We're going to have to use Surf in order to get over there, unless you already know how to swim, of course."

            Scarlet smirked. "All right, then. Where's Leon?"

            "Somewhere else in the city, taking down Team Galactic with Star's help," I replied calmly. "I had my team split up into groups of two while I went off on my own." I blasted another Golbat with a bit of Ice magic. "They can take care of themselves."

            We heard a large explosion in the distance, followed by the screams of people. I couldn't tell whether they were goons or the city's inhabitants.

            "I'm gonna go check that out," I told Scarlet. "Spread the word about the Pokemon Rock and try to get there in order to stop Team Galactic at its source."

            Scarlet nodded. "Got it."

            I dashed away from the crowd of grunts and over to where smoke was rising in the distance. Grunts ran past me without a second look, Golbat and other Pokemon with them. I managed to take out whatever Bug-Types they had on hand without a second thought.

            When I had reached the source of the smoke, I was surprised to see that it was actually a stopped caravan of some sort, made up of trucks with the Galactic symbol on the side. The attackers were a monkey with a large flame on his head and a red creature that looked like some sort of feline or fox, only with a collar made of fur. You could practically feel the heat radiating off them. They weren't alone, though. Standing between the two Pokemon was a man with a bright red Afro, wearing a yellow T-shirt and jeans. I recognized him instantly.

            "Hey, Flint!" I greeted, coming over. "What are you doing here?"

            The Elite Four member didn't look at me as he shouted, "Get out of here, kid, if you know what's good for you!"

            I smirked as my staff vanished, then got into my Lucario stance again. "Fire Sphere!"

_BOOM!_

            The front of a truck exploded.

            Flint looked back at me in confusion, only to see the flames that were licking my hands and not burning them. "Who _are_ you?"

            "The name's Maria," I replied with a grin. "My friends and I only just got here, and when we saw Team Galactic, we knew there was trouble."

            Flint looked even more surprised, then grinned. "All right, then! Looks like we actually have a chance of beating these guys."

            I nodded. "So, what's with the trucks?"

            Flint's grin was gone in an instant. "They're using them to transport the civilians somewhere. I don't know why." He motioned to the trucks. "These were sent not too long ago in order to pick up some of them, and I'm going to need help tracking them down and figuring out where they're headed."

            I nodded. "All right." I summoned my staff and concentrated on being lifted up into the air by an unseen force. To my satisfaction, the wind came to my aid and, with my magic as an assist, lifted me up to a height at which I could see the whole city.

            However, the ride was so bumpy that I decided that I was _never_ going to do it again.

            "How are you doing that, kid?" Flint asked from below.

            "My special secret," I called back. I caught sight of what I was looking for. "There are trucks lined up on the beach! It looks like that's where everyone's being forced to go!" I lowered myself to the ground. "It looks chaotic, even from here," I continued, my staff vanishing again.

            Flint nodded. "All right. Flareon! Infernape! Let's go!"

            "Right!" the two Pokemon replied together.

            "I'm coming along, too," I added, my hands bursting into flame again.

            "That's fine with me - we need all the help we can get."

            The two of us started running through the streets, and an idea struck me.

            "Where's Volkner?" I inquired.

            Flint looked over at me. "Volkner?"

            I nodded. "Yeah - he would be a great help with this, wouldn't he?"

            "I haven't been able to find him," Flint told me. "He wasn't at the Gym, and he wasn't in the Lighthouse looking over the sea, either. He's somewhere in the city, I know that much, but wherever he is, he doesn't want to be found."

            I frowned. Obviously, I'd forgotten that Volkner had been in one of his moods when you reached this point of the game. But if he wasn't in the Lighthouse, where would he be? Hopefully not kidnapped by Team Galactic already...

            We reached the beach in little-to-no time, and saw what exactly was going on - the citizens were being herded together for some odd reason, most likely because something was going to happen to them or the city. I knew we had to do something in order to get the Galactic goons' attention.

            "What do you two think?" I asked Flint's Pokemon. "How are we going to get their attention and scare them out of their wits?"

            The Flareon looked out over the beach, frowning. He looked back at me and said, "Well, your abilities would certainly set them off. Are there any moves you can use on more than one person?"

            I frowned for a moment, then recalled the one time that I had used a move of that type. "There is one, but I end up using a large amount of my energy in order to make it work. If I could find a supply of energy to keep my strength up, then I should be able to have more than enough."

            Infernape looked over. "You seem like the type of kid who already has a plan in mind."

            I looked over to Flint, who was probably fabricating a plan of his own, then back at the two Fire-Types. "I used to be a Vulpix," I explained. "It should stand to reason that, if I have abilities that use fire, then I should have Flash Fire, too."

            Flareon looked at me in surprise, but then realized who he was talking to. "No way! You're the kid who came from the bad future, aren't you?"

            "That's right." I was a little surprised that an Elite Four member's Pokemon knew about me, but I figured that I'd have time to ask later. "So, will you help me?"

            "All the way," Infernape confirmed.

            Flint took notice that I had stopped conversing with his Pokemon. "What do you have in mind, Maria?"

            "It's going to be a bit risky," I admitted. "However, it's one of the few chances we have at actually getting the Galactic members to surrender."

            I explained to him what I had been thinking of doing. When I was done, he gave me a look of shock.

            "And your certain that this is going to work," he stated.

            "Pretty positive," I replied. "We'll at least grab their attention, and I can always count on my friends for an assist if we need it."

            "I'd better hope so."

            I grinned, then walked forward and took my place between Infernape and Flareon, then started to charge up power. Flareon and Infernape both did their best to cover me in Flamethrower attacks from both sides, and just as I had thought, my body absorbed the fire and added it to the power that I was already building up.

            When I had reached a sufficient amount of power, I allowed a small portion of it to leak out, covering me in a coat of white fire.

            "Here we go," I muttered. Taking a deep breath, I then yelled, "White...Flare!"

            The effect was instantaneous. White balls of fire rained down on the beach, attacking the Galactic goons that were guarding the civilians. Those that weren't hit ran for the water, while the people of Sunnyshore stayed in their huddle.

            After I had finished my attack, I fell to my knees, having used up a good deal of energy. Flareon gave some back to me in the form of a Fire Blast, but I was still out of it.

            "What are you waiting for?!" Flint shouted down to the beach. "Go back to your homes! Get away from those freaks!"

            I looked up as he said this; his words seemed to break whatever spell of fear that was on the crowd, and it's instantly broke up and fled into the city. Some people even passed by us, watching me with wide eyes.

            Infernape helped me get up. "You feeling all right?"

            I nodded. "Yeah - fine. Is Team Galactic sending their goons after us?"

            "Oh, they're coming, all right," Flint replied, glaring at the beach. "But they don't look like the other guys."

            I frowned, then looked out over the beach in the direction that Flint was staring.

            The Galactic grunts were coming, all right; but they were armed and dangerous.


	44. Chapter 44

            "What _is_ that?" Infernape asked, looking at the giant mechanical object on the beach.

            "It's a robot that can be piloted from there," Maria explained, pointing to the glass sphere located where the head would have been. "It looks like an upgrade of one of Eggman's old designs, too. 'Egg Dragoon', I think." She leaned against a wall to her left, looking the machine over.

            The machine in question looked like a cross between Dialga and Palkia. The arms were plated to look like the arm Palkia had, the crystal on one of Dialga's legs, with Palkia's wings on the back and Dialga's spines arranged like a crown around the back half of the sphere. The rest of the machine was in Galactic's colors - the dull grays and blacks, complete with their symbol on its chest.

            "What is that thing made of?" Flint wondered.

            "Hopefully it's something we can break," Maria replied. She caused a ball of fire to appear in her right hand and threw it at the robot. It hit the robot in the right shoulder, causing an explosion, but no damage was done. All they gained was the robot's attention. It started to walk toward them, the intent of the pilot clearly in mind.

            "Dialga! Now!" shouted a faint voice in the distance. Maria's head turned, and she caught sight of Sonic standing on the beach with the Legendary and the rest of the group.

            Dialga let out a roar in reply, and a large blue portal appeared beside him. An instant later, a crowd of Mobians poured out onto the beach.

            Flint stared in astonishment. "What kinds of Pokemon are _those_?"

            "They're not Pokemon," Maria replied. "Their Mobians, or PokeMorphs, depending on who you talk to." She ran out onto the beach and over to the group. "Come on, Flint! We've got to stop that thing!"

            As Maria got up to the group, she told Scarlet, "I found one of the Elite Four - Flint, the Fire-Type expert. He's been giving me some help." She looked around. "Have any of you guys seen a man with yellow hair and some sort of blue trench coat?"

            "No," Scarlet replied. "Why?"

            "Flint's been looking for Volkner, and he hasn't shown up anywhere. I'm going to need someone to take a trip around the city and try to find him. He's the Gym Leader around here, and is going through one of his moods."

            "What kind of mood?" Keith inquired.

            "The 'I don't want to battle anymore because I beat everybody' mood. If things were going as the video games portrayed them, he would be found in the Lighthouse." Maria pointed up to the tower at the edge of the bay. "However, because Galactic's attacking, things have become a bit...switched up. Now, Volkner's unfindable."

            Flint, who had come up behind Maria with Infernape and Flareon, frowned at her statement. Then he looked over at the robot, which had changed direction when he had been running, and was now heading towards them. "So, how are we going to get rid of that thing?"

            Sonic grinned and cracked his knuckles. "The old-fashioned way; we're going to take this thing out in teams. Tails and Sal are with me. Knuckles and Julie-Su are with Shadow. Amy and Magenta are going with Scarlet and Keith. Brendan and Flint can pair up, and Maria and Black, too. Everybody else can go where they're needed."

            Maria nodded. "All right, then. Black, where's your team?"

            Black let out a shrill whistle, then a group of Pokemon broke off from the main crowd and gathered around them.

            Maria looked around. "Let's see... Unfezant, Simipour, Serperior, Beartic, and Mienshao. Are you planning on catching a Sinnoh Pokemon while you're here?"

            Black blinked in confusion, then shook his head. "Nah. I'm waiting for someone."

            "Who?" Leon asked, cocking his head in confusion.

            Maria looked to the sky. "I think I know. You're waiting for Zekrom, aren't you?"

            Black nodded. "He'll be here soon. In the meantime, let's see about taking that thing ourselves."

            "Right," Sonic said in agreement. "Let's do it to it!" He took off towards the robot, followed by the crowd of Mobians.

            Maria grinned at her Pokemon team. "Who's up for some bot busting?"

            Champ cracked his knuckles, grinning hugely. "Bring them on!" He ran over toward the fight that was starting between the grunts and the Mobians, the rest of Maria's team running after him.

            Maria nodded to Black, then ran off after them, the Trainer from Unova dashing alongside her with his Pokemon spreading out in front of them in a "V" formation.

            "Get that mech!" Black ordered his Pokemon.

            The Serperior let out a roar of reply and, gathering herself into a spring form, took off into the air and began to spin, leaves appearing in the air around the Pokemon.

            "Is that a Leaf Storm?" Maria guessed.

            Black nodded. "A little trick she learned when we were fighting in the Gym at Mistraliton."

            Maria's eyebrows shot up. "That's pretty cool. Did you take it off of a Flame Charge from, say, a Zebstrika?"

            Black frowned. "How is it that you haven't gone to Unova and yet you know about every single Pokemon in the region?"

            Maria smirked as she screeched to a halt on the sand. "Back at home, the adventure you went through came out in a video game. I don't have every single Pokemon, but I know about every single species. Found the Victory Pokemon yet?"

            Simipour let out a yelp. "Look out!"

            The two humans moved out of the way just in time as the Egg Dragoon Galactic mech fired a beam of pink energy in their direction. As soon as it made contact with the sand, it transformed the grainy substance into glass.

            "Note to self: avoid that," Maria muttered. She ran over to the mech and threw a Fire Sphere at its right foot joint. "OK, guys! Hit it with everything you've got!"

            Her team let out a roar in unison and charged the mech, unleashing their moves in combinations that can only be achieved in the wild through sheer will. Maria joined in among them, as well, firing off Fire Spheres and other Fire attacks.

            "Where did you learn to do that, anyway?" Black asked, looking over at Maria as he climbed onto the back of his Unfezant.

            "Long story," Maria replied quickly. "Maybe I'll tell you guys about it later." She glared up at the mech and fired off another Fire Sphere at a glass construct near the leg joints. The area began to smoke, and the glass started to crack under the heat.

            "There's probably at least three pilots in there, maybe two," Maria told Black. "If any of them come out, capture them but don't kill them. I'm not planning on doing anything murderous in this or any other worlds."

            Black gave her an odd look, but the Trainer didn't respond. Instead, she glared at the glass as it continued to crack, until it finally shattered. Out of it came a black-and-white figure wearing a green outfit and a Skuntank.

            Maria's eyes narrowed. "Geoffrey St. John. I was wondering when he would show up again." She ran over to where St. John was landing on the sand and tackled him, avoiding the Pokemon that would have clogged her nasal cavities with a paralytic scent. "Champ! Give this skunk a wrestling move that will keep it out of the way. And steer clear of his tail!"

            "Right!" the Pokemon barked in reply. He charged the Skuntank from behind and held it down, clamping his arms around the Pokemon's body and starting to squeeze.

            St. John glared at Maria. "What do you think you're doing?"

            "Stopping Team Galactic," Maria replied with a rather sinister grin. "And you? You do realize that you're working for the wrong side, right?"

            The skunk's face tightened in anger. With a growl, he launched himself at Maria, who sent him flying backwards with a minor shock.

            "How-?" the skunk started.

            "A little magic," Maria replied, bringing down the electric shield she had placed between them with a wave of her staff. "I've remembered a lot over the past few days, and that was one of the first things that I'd learned." She leaned forward. "Now, where is the source of the portal magic I'd felt a few days ago?"

            The skunk frowned. "Portal magic?"

            "Yeah - the kind that turns into a blue circular door that connects to other worlds. I'd felt it after what had happened on Mt. Coronet. The source is near here. Where is it?"

            The Mobian blinked in surprise, then glared at the human. "What makes you think your portal thingy is here, anyway?"

            Maria reached under the collar of her shirt and pulled out a glowing blue crystal on a brown thong. "This makes me think it's here. And I know it is."

            Black gave Maria a confused look while Champ pounded the Skuntank's head into the sand using Rock Smash. Maria continued to ignore him.

            "Hey, Silver!" Maria called out. "I found someone you might want to have a talk to."

            "Who?" Silver asked, flying over.

            "A certain skunk," Maria replied, motioning to Geoffrey St. John. "I'm gonna see if I can climb up and take this thing out from the inside. Let me know if Black's black dragon gets here, all right?"

            The silver hedgehog nodded, then turned to look at the skunk while Maria turned to look at the robot above them. She then ran over to the left robotic leg, careful to avoid the grunts that were attacking and the attacks from the Mobians and Pokemon on both sides.

            Maria grabbed a loose, torn edge of metal on the robot's foot and started to climb up, using her fire powers to melt in hand and foot holds. At about just above the ankle joint, she switched to a different tactic, deciding to try something that she had seen on a TV show. Lowering her arms to her sides, she released a blast of fire from her hands, a blast powerful enough to send her up to where St. John's glass sphere once sat.

            Grabbing onto the metal frame, she climbed inside, turning off her firepower and looking around for a way deeper into the mech. Upon finding that there wasn't too much in that way, she summoned her staff and started to work with another form of magic. She summoned a small blast of ice and hit the metal above her with it. Then she used her fire to destroy whatever metal there was, followed not long after by electric magic that attacked the wires.

            Maria stumbled a little, trying to regain her balance as the robot reeled, then stopped moving.

            _"What just happened?"_ Silver asked telepathically. _"The robot almost completely lost balance!"_

 _"I attacked it using electricity,"_ Maria replied, piggybacking on Silver's telepathic signal. _"I won't be able to get a big enough charge to take it out completely. Black's dragon friend, Zekrom, should be able to take it out without too much trouble."_

            Silver seemed surprised by this statement, but didn't reply verbally.

            Maria glared up at the wires and grabbed a few, tearing them out with her bare hands. Them she stuck her staff up through the opening and sent another charge through the wires, causing the mech to stumble a second time. This time, however, Maria could hear someone cursing above her, but it was faint. She took this as a good sign that there was someone of the higher-ups piloting the mech. She poked the staff up even further, and sent a third charge through the wires, causing the mech to actually move backwards.

 _"Keep doing whatever you're doing, Maria!"_ Silver called out. _"I think you're forcing the pilot to come out of his hiding place."_

            Maria poked a few times in an upward motion and was instantly met with an opposing force. _"I think he doesn't want to leave, whoever he is. Someone's got to open up the glass sphere and force him out."_

            _"Perhaps I can help with that,"_ came a deeper voice. _"My dear, if you would, please remove your little rod from the wires. I don't want you to get hurt by what I am going to do."_

            Maria almost froze, but managed to gather what she needed in order to remove the staff. "Go for it!" she shouted.

            There was a loud roar outside the mech, not followed too long after by electricity that coated the area above where Maria stood. Maria could almost hear the figure above scream in pain, soon followed by a loud crash of glass.

            _"Get out, kid!"_ the voice shouted.

            Maria, her heartbeat speeding up, ran over to where the glass hemisphere had been and leapt out. As she fell, she was caught by Star.

            "Man, you really dealt some damage to that thing," the Pokemon noted.

            "It was all Zekrom's doing, in the end," Maria replied. "I only helped. Where's the guy who was above me?"

            "The Black Dragon has him," Star replied. "He calls himself Mercury, apparently."

            Maria frowned. "I'm not familiar with anyone going by the name of that. Saturn must have promoted him from a normal grunt."

            "Probably," Star agreed. "There they are now."

            They came down to a landing in front of the now destroyed mech, where Black was waiting with Zekrom, Sonic, and the prisoner, who had neon orange hair, separating him from the ranks of grunts.

            "So, this is the guy who was piloting the mech?" Maria asked, looking the Galactic member over.

            The man glared at her, probably hoping to intimidate her, only for Maria to hold a small ball of fire up to his nose.

            "Where's Saturn?" she asked calmly.

            Mercury's eyes widened, and he tried to back up, only for him to bump into Zekrom, who was standing behind him. "I d-don't know who you're talking about."

            Sonic gave the Galactic member a suspicious look. "I think that you do. You can't just run an entire operation like this when you've only just been promoted."

            The man stiffened, but he didn't say anything.

            Maria doused the flame and folded her arms. "Well, if we aren't getting anything out of him, we might as well go into the belly of the beast." She pointed to a rock nearby which looked like some sort of bear-like creature with tall ears and a large belly. "The entrance is somewhere on the Pokemon Rock. The question is where."

            Zekrom bent down and looked at Mercury. _"I believe that finding it won't be too hard,"_ he remarked. _"It won't take me long."_ Upon saying that, he grabbed Mercury and took off for the Pokemon Rock, the screaming Galactic member in tow. He then stopped in front of the Rock, though a decent distance away from it, and dropped the Galactic member. The man's shrill scream was heard from the beach.

            "All right! I'll tell you!" he wailed.

            Zekrom swoops down and caught him, a low growl coming from his throat.

            "Y-you have to fly in! Through the mouth!"

            Maria exchanged glances with Star. "You up for it?"

            The Pokemon nodded. "Let's stop these guys once and for all!"

            Maria leapt onto Star, who took off for where Zekrom was still flying and holding onto Mercury, who had fainted from either exhaustion or fear.

            "I'm going in," she told the Dragon/Electric Type. "Try to get as many of the others to follow as you can."

            Zekrom nodded. _"Be careful. I sense a strange electrical energy inside that place."_

            Maria grabbed the crystal that now shone brightly. "I feel it, too, but I know it better by the name 'Portal Magic.' It means that there's someone who traveled from another world and came through to this place in there. Very few know how to use it, so I've got a few ideas as to who's in there." She directed Star over to where the "mouth" of the rock was and began to look for an opening while Zekrom flew back to the beach.

            Maria grabbed a ledge on the stone Pokemon's face, feeling around for what might have been a button or a lever. Upon not finding anything, she summoned her staff and zapped the area, hoping to get a reaction.

            The entire Pokemon Rock shook as the electricity coursed through it. Then Maria got the reaction she had wanted: the mouth dropped open a fraction, enough to allow a human on a Pokemon to slip through.

            "Let's do it to it," Maria told Star.

            Star flew forward as she replied, "You've been hanging around that hedgehog a bit too much."

            "I used to say it before I officially met him," Maria responded with a smirk.

            The two flew into the mouth of the Pokemon Rock, and it closed shut behind them.

**Maria's POV**

            I looked around as we flew in. Obviously, it was meant to be some sort of landing strip for whatever Flying Pokemon Team Galactic had. What surprised me was that they actually had planes in the area, too, making this place a part-time hangar. It surprised me because the games had never really looked into flying technologies beyond Flying Pokemon. Then again, this comes from someone who has seen them use helicopters in the TV show and the airplanes in Mistraliton in Unova.

            After I'd gotten off Star, I grabbed my Atlantean Crystal and started looking for the Portal Magic. The response was instant, and exactly what I was looking for - the portal was pretty deep in the hideout, so it was going to take some time to get to it and figure out what was going on. However, that wasn't the only anomaly that I was feeling. There was something dark in the area, as well, something that I'd felt before.

            Star seemed to feel it, as well. She let out a shudder. "I wish we had more backup."

            "The others are probably going to get in here soon, if they're not too busy with the Galactic grunts that are out there," I replied. "Come on. Saturn's probably at the center of the place, and it feels like that's below us somewhere." I started for the other end of the landing strip, which was pretty small, considering that most of the 'head' of the Pokemon Rock was taken up by storage for the planes and copters.

            As we neared the other end of the room, I saw that there were a couple guards in Galactic uniforms standing on either side of the exit, holding what looked like guns, but I doubted that was actually true. However, that didn't mean that firearms didn't exist.

            I charged up and threw a couple small blasts of fire at the grunts, something akin to Shadow's Chaos Spear. They let out exclamations of surprise as the metallic objects melted in their hands. Then they caught sight of me.

            "Come here, kid!" one of them growled, running at me.

            "Not on your life," I replied. Star and I moved out of the way just as the grunt was about to grab me. "Star, use Aerial Ace and take these two out."

            The Pokemon nodded, then flew around the hangar at high speed, knocking both of the grunts out with a sock to the jaw to each of them.

            I grinned. "All right. It'll probably be the same sort of situation the further down we go. Be ready."

            Star nodded. "Right."

            We ran through the door and found ourselves at the top of a steel stairwell surrounded by wall of rock. It looked like it had been installed with haste.

            "You might have to catch me if the stairs don't hold," I warned Star. With that, we started down the stairs.

            As I ran, I was thinking about what types of Pokemon Saturn was most likely going to use when I found him. Toxicroak was a definite part of his team, but the rest was still a bit iffy. Either Kadabra or Alakazam, maybe; a Golbat or Crobat might show up, too. The rest is still up in the air.

            "I certainly hope they don't take too long getting down here," I muttered to myself.

            Not very far down the stairs, they started to shake more violently with every step I took.

            Star took note of this, as well, and flew around me. "Ready when you are."

            I leapt onto her, and the instant displacement of weight caused the stairs to begin to collapse in on themselves. Star was quick to avoid the falling debris, and I helped by melting what I could into smaller pieces without creating a burning hail that might hurt my friend or me.

            By the time we'd reached the bottom of the stairwell, the steel construct was nothing more than a pile of scrap metal.

            "Well, so much for getting out of here on foot," I remarked. Turning to look at Star, I asked, "You ready to go deeper? Or should we rest a little first?"

            Star shook her head. "We have to keep moving, if we want to stop them."

            I nodded in agreement, then walked off into the adjoining corridor. A short while later, we came to an intersection of sorts, which was lit by wall-mounted electric lights and split off into six tunnels.

            Star looked around, then took note of something I hadn't bothered to notice. "We're under the ocean floor," she warned me. "The air smells like sea water."

            I realized that she was right. "This must be one of Sinnoh's natural underwater caverns," I told her. "Hoenn has them all over the place, so it would make sense that other regions would have a few, as well. However, when Team Aqua got to Kyogre's cavern, it was outfitted with warp panels almost immediately. Let's hope that this place doesn't have any." Mentally, I added, However, considering that Charon had a hand in constructing this place, it's likely that he outfitted it with the most recent technology.

            I walked around the circular chamber, testing each of the corridors with my crystal, to see which one was closer to the source of the Portal Magic or the dark anomaly. The first corridor - the furthest one to my left as we had entered the intersection - responded with a signal like the latter's.

            "Let's test this way," I told Star. "I get the feeling that there's something rather important over here."

            Star came over and landed next to me, letting out a shudder. "I don't think we should go down this way until we get backup," she stated firmly. "I sense a dark presence there, one that should not be faced by just us two."

            I was about to protest, but I realized that she was probably right. In the past, when I'd faced creatures that had this dark residue, I'd been backed by at least two others. If it was just me and Star, things could end up differently.

            I nodded in defeat. "All right. I'll see what happens with the other passages." I walked past the other corridor entrances, only to find that all of them had that dark presence except for one.

            "We'll have to start with this one," I told Star, motioning to the corridor on our far right. "I can't tell what might be down this way. You ready?"

            Star puffed up her chest feathers, something some birds do in an attempt to make themselves seem larger. "Ready!"

            "Then let's go."

**Spacial Break**

            Saturn watched with mild interest as the girl and her Pokemon ran through the last corridor and started to make their way deeper into the hideout. He was certain that she was going to go for one of the generators, but the fact that she went for a different path intrigued him. However, what he found fascinating was the glowing object that hung around her neck. Maria seemed to...check every one of the passages with the object before continuing deeper into his home territory.

            Saturn zoomed in on the girl as she continued through the passage. She seemed...different, somehow, from when he had seen her last. That, and she only had one Pokemon with her, as far as he could tell. That made her extremely vulnerable to attacks from a large amount of Pokemon. Saturn went through the hideout's records. To his disappointment, there weren't any Electric-Types in their storage systems.

            Saturn looked back at the camera screens. Since he was used to working with computers in his free time, he felt at home at the security station. However, that feeling of comfort faded instantly when he caught sight of what Maria was doing alongside her Pokemon.

            The Trainer was throwing fireballs at his minions, who were running screaming at the top of their lungs, from the look of it.

            Saturn gritted his teeth in frustration. "Why that no-good little -" He cut himself off before he went too far and almost cursed one of the Legendary Pokemon. Despite being a leader of Team Galactic, his grandfather had still drilled into him that creatures with power above yours were figures that were not to be used as or the recipients of curses. He'd learned that the hard way, or so Charon had claimed.

            Saturn's eyes narrowed as he looked at the screen, his mind thinking up a plan to bring down this fire-wielding Trainer. They didn't have any Water-Types, and using Ground-Type moves or Pokemon was out of the question. And that Staraptor was going to be a bit of a problem, too.

            Just then, a thought occurred to him. A thought that concerned the generators...and a prisoner.

            Saturn turned in his chair to look at a figure behind him. "Well, well, looks like you're going to be of some use to me after all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of references to different things. I really liked to go over-the-top with a ton of ideas and leave plot lines just lying there afterwards.
> 
> Like where Team Galactic got that giant mecha from.


	45. Chapter 45

**Maria's POV**

            I threw a fireball at an oncoming Beautifly, scaring a grunt with the fact that I had abilities that only a Fire-Type Pokemon had. Plus, with Star flying in the faces of the other Pokemon and grunts, we had more of an advantage than the others because of battle experience.

            "It doesn't look like these guys are even trying to stop us," Star noted as she took out another Bug-Type. "Do you think that they're letting us go through the base on purpose?"

            I frowned, melting a gun-like construct that a grunt was trying to aim at me. "That could be possible. They could be leading us into a trap, too, and they're hoping to keep us alive until then." I glared at a grunt, which sent him scurrying. "I've faced a sorceress and a man made of crystal. Getting caught in a trap made by the Galactics shouldn't be too much of a problem."

            Star looked at me, then nodded. "If you say so. Is that Portal Magic Sensor of yours getting any stronger?"

            I looked down at the Atlantean Crystal, which instantly glowed brightly in response. It almost seemed to have a hint of green in its blue light. The only time crystals like these were ever known to do that was when they were close to a counterpart from the same shard... Suddenly, I knew from where the Portal Magic had come from, and what specific world - no, kingdom - it led to.

            "We're getting close," I told Star. "Very close."

            The Pokemon nodded, then blasted through a group of Cascoon and Silcoon that were using Harden in a pitiful try to protect the grunts and themselves.

            I leapt at a grunt and held him up against a wall. "I know you're holding someone against their will here," I warned. "Tell me where he is, and I won't sic Star on you."

            Star puffed up her chest feathers and glared at the grunt.

            The Galactic member swallowed nervously, but didn't say a word.

            I nodded to Star, who got into a position to get a good attack in without hurting me accidentally.

            "I suggest a Close Combat," I told her. "Hit where you think it will hurt the most."

            Star smiled mischievously, causing the grunt to pale considerably. She started to move forward, and I knew that she was temporarily sharpening her talons on the rocky floor.

            The grunt tried to back up and away from the Pokemon, but I was already holding him up against the wall, and he happened to be trapped in such a way that he couldn't really do anything to escape. This made him increasingly nervous.

            Just as Star was rearing back and about to strike, the grunt screamed, "All right! All right! I'll tell you!"

            Star stopped the attack and retreated only a foot back, glaring at the grunt in case he got any ideas.

            "Well?" I prompted.

            "T-there was this kid who came in awhile back - two, three days ago," the grunt said quickly. "H-he was wearing what looked like a black robe with some sort of zipper down the front and a hood. He... He came through some sort of blue, swirly thing in Saturn's war room."

            I raised my eyebrows. At least I knew who came and where he came from and arrived at, but the question was why.

            "Was there anything about him that you found unusual other than his attire?" I inquired.

            The grunt gulped, then looking at Star fearfully, said, "The first thing he did was burn some of Charon's old plans and a drawing of the Dragon Mech. Without a Fire-Type or a box of matches."

            That was the one of the answers I was looking for. "Where are you holding him?"

            The grunt swallowed. "I can't tell you."

            Star's chest feathers puffed out again, and she started to rear up, but the grunt said quickly, "Saturn took him and hid him somewhere in the base, and he didn't tell anyone where he took him. If I did know, I'd say he's with the other prisoner." The grunt instantly looked like he'd said too much.

            I frowned. "Other prisoner?" I repeated. "You wouldn't happen to mean a Trainer, do you? The Gym Leader of Sunnyshore?"

            If the grunt were any paler, I could have sworn that he was a ghost.

            I smirked. "Now, where is the Gym Leader?" When the grunt didn't answer, I was about to signal Star to start her torturing, but after a moment I dropped him instead.

            "Fainted," I muttered. Looking at Star, I said, "Looks like we have to find them on our own."

            Star sighed. "I was really looking forward to pummeling him."

            "And he saw that," I agreed. "Come on; we didn't come here to sightsee." We took off down the corridor, blasting away the other grunts who tried to stop us. None we strong enough to oppose us.

            It wasn't all that long before we reached another intersection, only this time we had a choice of three tunnels, rather than six.

            "Now which way?" Star asked, looking around.

            "We'll find out soon enough," I replied, walking over to the furthest left corridor.

            The first corridor I tested, the crystal dimmed considerably, and the green completely vanished. The one on the other end of the three was a little brighter, but the green wasn't in that one, either. It was the corridor in the center of the two that shone as the brightest of the three, and the green was there, although faint enough to go almost unnoticed.

            "It's this one," I told Star.

            The bird hopped over, having landed to conserve energy. "You certain?"

            "Positive," I confirmed. "Come on; as you've said already, the sooner we get to Saturn, the better."

            We ran into the corridor and mentally prepared for a fight from stronger grunts. Both of us expected that, the deeper you went, the stronger the defenses would become. However, it didn't seem that was quite the case here. In fact, oddly enough, the entire corridor seemed to be...abandoned, completely goon-free.

            My foot struck one of the gun-like objects, and I stumbled, then came to a full stop. Now was my chance to figure out whether they really had firearms or not. Picking it up, I realized that the Galactic goons were carrying these things just to intimidate people. The "gun" was, apparently, nothing more than a piece of scrap metal, one that looked like a gun (or a bazooka in some cases) from a reasonable distance. I dropped the object unceremoniously on the rock floor, then continued on. Star was waiting a pretty good distance down the path.

            "Those metallic objects are nothing more than clubs," I told her carelessly. "They're not Lt. Surge's Voltorb Launchers or anything even remotely as dangerous."

            Star nodded. "I'm sensing one of those dark things we felt earlier, and I don't like the feel of it."

            I frowned. Saturn was probably sending them after us as a last resort. "We'll have to be careful, then. How far ahead, do you think?"

            "Not far at all."

            Whenever a Pokemon said that, it usually meant that we were practically on top of them.

            I summoned my staff and started moving again, gripping my chosen weapon with both hands. A sense of foreboding was in the air, and I knew that we were going to get into quite a fight soon enough. It wasn't long before Star and I found out exactly what.

**Change in POV**

            Maria stopped walking forward and glared at the odd, circular shadow that had suddenly appeared in front of her. "I should have been expecting them to appear the moment that we'd entered this place," she muttered.

            "Should have expected what?" Star inquired.

            "Heartless," Maria growled in reply.

            As if on cue, the shadow in front of them started to rise up out of the ground, becoming some sort of odd, small creature completely colored black except for its glowing yellow eyes.

            Star let out a squawk of surprise upon seeing the creature. "That has the same energy as the other corridors we've passed by!"

            "It's called a Heartless," Maria repeated. With a simple mental command, she charged up her staff and zapped the creature with electricity, causing it to disintegrate into nothing. "They're creatures from another place and represent the darkness. I guess you could call it an embodiment of evil." She started moving forward again, Star staying right next to her. "They're known in another place for stealing the hearts of people."

            The Pokemon frowned. "How can a creature like that steal your heart? You'd die without it, wouldn't you?"

            Maria sighed. "There are two different kinds of hearts, I guess you could say. One would be the physical, which pumps life giving blood throughout your systems, and the other is is a figurative heart, which holds your personality, your memories - everything that makes you who you are. That's what the Heartless prey on."

            A couple more of the shadowy creatures appeared in front of them, but Maria took them out without too much trouble.

            "And then there are the empty shells of the people who have had their hearts removed," Maria continued. "They're referred to as Nobodies, simply because they're not supposed to exist. They're people without emotions, but they can mimic them using what memories they've retained. One of my friends used to be one, actually."

            Star was surprised by this last statement. "Used to be?" she repeated.

            Maria nodded. "If a Heartless and it's matching Nobody are defeated, then they can recombine into the original person. That's what happened to my friend."

            "Oh. I get it. So, how do you defeat them?"

            "Normal attacks can work, but there are specific weapons that release the hearts from the darkness, as it's been said. They're called Keyblades."

            At the mentioning of the weapon, a Heartless seemingly cringed just as Maria took it out with an Electric attack from her staff.

            "Heartless don't like them because it takes their existence out of the picture, but it also makes for a great Heartless Magnet," Maria continued.

            Star Aerial Aced through a small group of the creatures, shuddering at the feel of the shadow monsters' touch. "What do you mean?"

            "Heartless fear the Keyblade, but they also want its wielder on their side to give them more hearts," Maria explained. "So, despite the fact that they'll be stopped in their tracks quite easily, they still go after the Keyblade wielders to make their hearts fall into darkness."

            Star shuddered again. "I certainly hope that I don't become one of them," she remarked.

            "Same for me," Maria agreed. "Come on; if we keep moving, they won't be quite as much of a problem." She charged through the growing ranks of the dark creatures, a line of electric magic in front of her, and Star not far behind.

            The Heartless weren't too much of a problem for them, what with Maria using magic like no tomorrow to take them out with the greatest of ease. However, even magic has it's limits.

            Maria took out the last of the Heartless in the fifth mini army that she and Star had gone through. "I'm not sure that I can take much more of this," she warned the Pokemon. "Magic is like a Pokemon's skill set - it takes energy to use it, and you eventually can't do the move anymore. That's why I save White Flare for only the greatest of emergencies."

            "Yeah, I'm starting to feel a little exhausted, as well. Ya got any Oran and Leppa Berries?"

            Maria started to dig through her backpack. "I don't have any Leppa Berries, but I do have a Max Elixir. Here's a couple Oran Berries, too." She tossed the items to the Flying/Normal-Type, who quickly swallowed the items, then found an Apple and ate that herself. Once they were done eating, they continued deeper into the Galactic base.

**Spacial Break**

            Saturn let out a hiss of frustration as Maria slew the dark creatures. He had no idea how they had managed to escape from the generators they were supposed to be powering, but he wasn't going to head out and try to recapture them now. However, it looked like they were taking a large amount of her energy to use those powers of hers. How and when she had gained the ability to use Pokemon abilities was beyond him, but he was intent on finding out. That, and who she truly was...

            Saturn turned to look at the prisoner, who was held down on a steel table with restraints on his wrists, ankles, and around his waist. The figure, who was looking over at Saturn already, narrowed his eyes in an attempt to look intimidating, which was hard to do, considering his position.

            "What do you want with the Heartless?" the figure growled.

            "You are in no position to ask that," Saturn replied with a smug look. "What is your interest in them, anyway?"

            "I came here to destroy them," the figure stated.

            "Destroy them? Our power source?" Saturn seemed appalled at the idea. "I think not."

            "The Heartless are too dangerous. They could destroy you just as easily as the animals around here can use their abilities."

            Saturn frowned, then turned back to look at the camera screens. Already, Maria was closing in on the nexus of their operations, but she was not going to find him there. In fact, she wasn't going to find him at all if she continued to do what she was doing.

            The Galactic Commander chuckled, then started to access the computer mainframe. Some days, it was good to be a computer genius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I really, really liked Kingdom Hearts back then, okay? I still do, it's just that I've realized that you can't include it in every single fic.


	46. Chapter 46

            Maria blasted back a small group of Heartless, then checked her crystal. It was glowing less brightly than before, but a red tinge had appeared and was increasing considerably. That fact alone caused Maria to worry.

            "Something's wrong," she told Star. "The crystal's dimming and growing redder by the second."

            Star frowned. "We're walking right into a trap," she warned. "We should try another route to this portal thingy, or find your friend instead."

            Maria backed away from the Heartless, who remained where they were standing. She looked down at her crystal, which responded instantly by glowing a bright green.

            Maria touched the wall. "He's on the other side of this wall," she told Star. "You want to try and break through?"

            Star cocked her head, still frowning. "How thick is it, do you think? Besides, we still have to keep our eyes on these guys, too." She pointed to the Heartless with one of her wings.

            The dark creatures didn't react, and didn't move. They were almost statue-like.

            Maria frowned and moved away from the wall. "Get behind me, Star. I'm going to try something."

            The Flying Pokemon obliged quickly.

            "Take this!" Maria called, sending a wave of Ice magic from her staff at the Heartless. Much to her surprise, the Heartless absorbed the attack, but remained where they were standing.

            Maria looked over at Star. "It looks like they're a decoy. Let's ignore them for now and concentrate on this wall. I suggest a Close Combat."

            Star nodded, then started hitting the wall. Maria joined her, using Ice magic on the wall, then melting it with a Fire attack, causing the wall to crack and weaken. It wasn't long before a large crack had appeared on the wall.

            "Together!" Maria ordered, slamming into the wall as Star did the same. The wall didn't move under their force - at first. However, it wasn't long before the crack increased in size and the wall began to collapse into a pile of rock.

            Maria and Star grinned at each other, then started to make their way over the pile of rock. Near the top of the pile, Maria checked her crystal. Much to her surprise, it was a mix of green and red light, causing her to hesitate.

            "What's wrong?" Star asked.

            "He's on the other side of this pile, but so is some sort of danger," Maria replied. "Be ready."

            The Staraptor nodded, then continued up the pile of boulders as best she could, Maria not far behind.

**Shift in POV**

            Saturn stared in astonishment as the wall of rock tumbled to the ground with a rumble. The intruders were almost at his hiding place, and they hadn't even broken a sweat! Not only that, but the decoys he had set up didn't do a thing to stop or distract them for even half a minute.

            The prisoner, startled by the sudden noise, did his best to see what it was that Saturn was so worked up about, and he managed to catch sight of not only an untouched trap, but that Maria was coming right for them. He smirked. "You are so dead."

            "Not yet I'm not," Saturn replied in a low growl. "I have one last line of defense."

            Beyond the steel-plated door, there was a sudden explosion, which shook the room. Not long after, the door seemed to become coated in electricity, then heat up considerably, turning a red color.

            "Hah!" someone exclaimed, followed not long after by a loud clang as something hit the door. The affect was instant - a dent appeared in the door. A minute later, the door started to cool down, but at an extremely fast rate, causing cracks to appear in the metal. "Take this!"

            The door fell to pieces and onto the rocky floor with a great crash, causing Saturn to jump in surprise. The prisoner, however, grinned hugely.

            "There's only one kid who would even attempt to do that," he remarked.

            Maria walked through the door, followed by Star. "Saturn, I never thought you'd end up using Heartless as part of your little organization. What's with the creatures of darkness?"

            "That's what Yen Sid sent me to figure out," the figure on the table stated.

            The Trainer's head turned, and she grinned broadly. "Hey, Lea. I figured either you or Riku would be here as soon as my crystal reacted." Her right hand became covered in flames, and she shot a small bolt of flame at his left wrist. The bolts holding down the restraint popped out, allowing the red-haired teen to break free and release himself in the same way.

            Maria looked at Saturn. "Now, what do you think you're doing? Don't you realize that you probably won't see either Cyrus or your fellow Commanders again? You've lost before you've even begun."

            Saturn glared at her. "I highly doubt that."

            Lea shook his head, an amused smile on his face. "You'd think that someone as smart as you knew when to surrender."

            Saturn glared at his former prisoner. "You haven't won yet," he growled.

            "Oh?" Maria motioned to the camera screens. "Take a look at that. My friends are giving your hired help a run for their money."

            Saturn glanced at the screens and, much to his shock, saw a blue blur go down the rock shaft and into the base, followed by a flying Vulpix creature and some sort of red Sandslash. He turned and glared at Maria, who was sure that the Galactic Scientist would start spewing Pokemon-style curse words as soon as he opened his mouth.

            "Star," she said calmly. A moment later, the Flying/Normal-Type had the Galactic Commander pinned against a wall. "Knock him out, but don't damage him too much. When we take him into the International Police, they're going to want him as healthy as possible. So no broken bones, okay?"

            The bird sighed, but complied by whacking the Galactic Commander over the head with her wings, taking him out without too much trouble.

            Lea looked the bird over. "I haven't seen an animal like that before," he noted.

            "Lea, this is Star, a Staraptor," Maria introduced. "She's one of the many Pokemon species that exist in this world. Star, this is Lea, a Keyblade Master."

            Star looked surprised. "Really? A Keyblade Master?"

            Maria nodded in confirmation, while Lea looked at the Pokemon in confusion.

            "Can they say anything other than their name?" he asked.

            "That's her language," Maria explained. "Other than growling, barking, and making other noises like that, Pokemon can only say their names. However, there are exceptions. For instance, some Pokemon use telepathy to communicate." She started to make her way for the door. "Come on - we've got to meet up with everyone else. Star, I'm putting you in charge of the prisoner."

            "You got it!" the Staraptor replied. She let go of Saturn and shifted her form so that she was underneath and carrying him. She then hopped forward and took to flying, although low to the ground.

            As Maria got over the pile of smoking metal, Lea asked, "So, where've you been?"

            "Here and there," Maria replied carelessly. "I've spent about a few years wandering around this planet. I have no idea how much time that makes at home."

            "A few years?"

            "Hey- I had amnesia until a couple days ago. Blame the Nightmare Pokemon's dark side."

            Lea was about to ask Maria what she had meant, but he was stopped by the sudden sounding of a horn. The group looked around, confused by the noise.

            "Either that's a ship that's coming into the docks," Maria remarked, "or that's one deafening alarm."

            A blue blur suddenly careened through the passage in front of them, screeching to a halt, becoming a hedgehog wearing a brown vest and combat boots, a brown sprig of fur coming out the top of his head and over his brown eyes. "The tunnels have started to collapse!" the hedgehog warned. "We've gotta get you out of here now."

            Maria looked at him in surprise. "Jules?"

            The hedgehog looked at Maria. "So, you know about my organic form?"

            "I've seen it enough times in comic books," Maria confirmed. "It's good to see you back to normal."

            Jules smirked. "Well, almost normal. Palkia decided the world needed another speedster, and that's going to take some getting used to."

            The tunnel started to rumble, setting the group off balance momentarily.

            "Let's move!" Jules barked. He revved up and took off into the tunnel, holding onto Lea and Saturn, who he had snatched off Star with lightning speed. Maria and the Pokemon followed behind as fast as they could.

            "Did Palkia ask you to do anything for him?" Maria called out to Jules.

            "He asked me to be the next Sonic," Jules replied. He wasn't running as fast as he possibly could, and stayed directly in front of Maria and Star. "And that included inheriting his speed and Chaos Emerald abilities."

            "Really?" Maria was surprised. "Imagine that. The parent inheriting his son's abilities."

            "That's what I thought. However, it makes sense that the speed stays in the family. Bernie was scared almost half to death when I sped home at Sonic's speed."

            Star made a twittering noise that sounded like laughter, only to stop mid-laugh when another tremor hit. Maria promptly recalled her to her PokeBall to prevent her from getting hurt from some falling rocks.

            "Grab onto me!" Jules ordered. "We need to get out of here now."

            "Right," Maria replied, wrapping her arms around the hedgehog's neck. "Whenever you're ready."

            Jules took off into the tunnel before Maria could finish her sentence, moving so quickly that the falling rocks were easily avoided.

            "How can you move this fast?" Lea demanded.

            "It runs in the family," Jules replied. Maria could almost sense a cockiness in his voice; was that where where Sonic had gotten his?

            Maria looked up at the rocky ceiling above them. Cracks were beginning to form, and water dripped down in some places.

            "I certainly hope that you know how to swim," Maria remarked. "Because it's about to get wet."

            Jules glanced up. "So it is. I don't suppose you can do anything to keep us dry?"

            "I probably could, but there's a lot of water up there. I don't know how long I'd be able to keep it off us."

            "Well, in that case, I'd better hope my feet are as fast as my son's."

            The group picked up speed, and a sudden sonic boom echoed through the tunnel as they turned into a blur. The clap of noise instantly caused the tunnel to begin to collapse behind them, sending in a wave of water to fill in and the air to go out.

            "Go, go, go!" Maria yelled, looking backwards at the water rushing in. "Unless you want a very salty bath!"

            "I'm going as fast as I can!" Jules roared in reply.

            "Hey, Dad!"

            The groups' heads turned to the left, catching sight Sonic, who was standing in an intersection of tunnels, his hands waving in the air. "The exit's this way!"

            The older hedgehog made a sharp turn to the left, almost sending a now-terrified and conscious Saturn into the wall. Then he dashed through the intersection, where Sonic took Saturn off his hands and started running as well, and up the tunnel and out the mouth of the Pokemon Rock.

            "Wa-hoo!" Lea exclaimed as they fell through the air. An instant later, they all landed on something large and black.

            "You guys need a lift?" Black asked with a grin back to the group.

            "Thanks, Black," Maria replied, smiling brightly. She looked back at the rock formation, only to see that it remained unchanged. "Did everyone make it out?" she asked, looking back at the Unova Trainer.

            The boy nodded. "Knuckles and Tails found someone in a highly guarded storeroom. He was practically jumping at the chance to meet you."

            Maria looked surprised. "Really? I wonder why. By any chance, does this guy look like his hair has more than enough static electricity for everybody? And is he wearing a blue robe?"

            Black nodded in confirmation. "He was pretty interested in Zekrom, too. Any idea why?"

            Maria grinned. "That, my friend, is the Sunnyshore Gym Leader, Volkner. He's the only guy standing between me and the Elite Four."

            "Really? The way you described him earlier made it sound like he wanted to quit!"

            _"All the excitement probably revitalized his interest,"_ Zekrom noted.

            "Most likely," Maria agreed.

            It didn't take very long for Zekrom to get to the beach and land on the sand. Sonic and Jules were off first, and were instantly surrounded by their fellow Mobians and taken to somewhere where they could spend some more time together. Maria and Lea got off the Legendary Pokemon after they had left, with Saturn restrained between them.

            Rouge and Beryl approached them as they left the Legendary Pokemon behind, their two bat-like Pokemon flying behind them.

            "I see you manage to catch him," Beryl noted, looking Saturn over.

            "He was hiding out in the Pokemon Rock," Maria explained. "We only just managed flush him out." She looked over at Lea, who had a suspicious look on his face. "Relax, Lea. These two work for the law enforcement around here."

            Lea eyes the two Mobians. "They don't look like the trusting type," he muttered.

            "Well, the same to you!" Rouge retorted, annoyed. "You'd really expect me to trust someone dressed like you?"

            Lea flinched. "Look, I would change clothes if I could, but right now this is all I've got, okay? So back off."

            Beryl frowned, then placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Leave him be, Rouge," he stated. "He's telling the truth."

            The bat's eyes narrowed, then she let out a sigh and grabbed Saturn's left arm away from Lea, forcing Maria to let go as well as she took off for Sunnyshore at a low altitude.

            "You'll have to excuse Rouge," Beryl stated. "She's really sweet once you get to know her."

            "I'll have to believe you on that one," Lea replied. "So, what's with you? You don't seem to be the trusting type."

            "I had an experience that caused me to rethink my place in life," the echidna replied. "I know what it's like to turn a new leaf."

            Lea looked at Maria, who explained, "Beryl used to be part of a group of Mobian Echidnas called the Nocturnus Clan. They tried to take over the world once using technology, only for Sonic - that blue hedgehog with the green eyes - to stop them with his friends' help. During that time, Rouge ran into Beryl and the two of them connected in one way or another. Now, they're husband and wife, working for an organization called the International Police, which makes use of their espionage techniques."

            Lea looked surprised. "And you knew that because...?"

            "Sonic and Sally, his girlfriend, told me a couple days ago about it."

            Beryl looked Maria over in mild interest. "Did they, now?"

            "Yeah, they did," Maria confirmed. "It was in exchange for information on my past, which at that point was as far back as my Pokemon Exploration days."

            The echidna nodded while Lea frowned, the confusion clear as day on the human's face. "That makes sense."

            "Beryl! We've got to go!" Rouge called out.

            "Coming!" Beryl replied. He gave a quick wave to the two humans, then took off in the direction Rouge had gone, Swoon and Crow following behind.

            Lea turned to look at Maria. "You are going to have to explain what's going on, you know."

            "I know," Maria replied with a sly smile. "That's going to have to wait, though. First, I'm going to have to answer to a challenge that's been set before me." She turned to look over to where Brendan was standing, which was near a small crowd of citizens from Sunnyshore. Beside him was a man with blond hair, wearing a dark blue jacket that went down below his knees.

            "Hey, Brendan," Maria greeted. "And you're Volkner, right? The Gym Master of the Sinnoh region?"

            Volkner looked Maria over. "It's nice that at least someone knows my formal title. You're the kid who invaded the base, right?"

            "That's me," Maria replied. "I heard that you wanted to challenge me."

            Volkner nodded in confirmation. "I want to see if you're really as good as they say."

            Maria smirked. "Just give me a moment to get my team together." She raised her voice. "Champ! Leon! Sparks! Luke! Dialga! Get over here!" She released Star as the rest of her team came rushing over.

            "What is it?" Leon asked.

            "We've got ourselves a challenge," Maria replied, motioning to Volkner. "If we beat him, the road to the Elite Four is wide open."

            The Pokemon looked at each other, then at Volkner.

            "Bring it ON!" Sparks called out.

            Volkner grinned at the Luxray's outburst. "Looks like your team is more than ready for a battle."

            "We're still running on adrenaline from taking out those Galactic freaks," Champ replied, slamming his fists together. "One more battle wouldn't hurt."

            Volkner grinned. "I guess not," he agreed. He looked at the citizens. "Clear a space so we can battle," he ordered. "You see how big that Legendary is."

            The crowd of people moved back, forming a rough rectangle that would easily fit a feuding Dialga and Palkia.

            The Mobians came over, Sonic, Jules, Bernie, and Charles leading the group.

            "What's going on?" Sonic asked, Paul flying in and landing beside him.

            "I've been challenged by Volkner to a match," Maria explained. "You guys want to watch?"

            "Sure." Sonic grinned. "Why not?" He looked at the rest of the Mobians. "Okay, guys; you're going to watch one of the most normal things in this time. If the Pokemon startle you, don't worry; they won't hurt you unless their Trainers go rogue, and that's not going to happen."

            Bernie, looking up at Dialga, nodded, a slightly nervous look hovering lightly on her face.

            "Come on, guys," Sonic stated, motioning toward the crowd of humans. He then led the group of Mobians into the crowd.

            Volkner watched them go. "They're the fabled PokeMorphs I've been hearing about, aren't they?"

            Maria nodded in confirmation. "Yup. Most of them are here only to visit from the past for a while. Dialga will send them back as soon as we're done here."

            "So, that's what we are?" Volkner asked, intrigued. "Entertainment?"

            "To them. Most of them haven't seen an event like this before. You up to making this interesting?"

            "Definitely."

            Volkner walked over to the other side of the "battlefield" while Maria called over to Brendan, "Hey, Brendan! Could you referee?"

            "Sure," the Hoenn Trainer replied. He centered himself on one side of the battlefield. "Whenever your ready."

            "Let's go!" Volkner called out. "Raichu!" He threw a PokeBall out into the air, releasing the evolved form of Pikachu.

            "Champ, into the ring!" Maria called.

            "All right!" the Machoke exclaimed. "Time to go all out."

            "Let's start things off with Strength, Champ," Maria suggested.

            "Raichu, Light Screen!" Volkner ordered.

            The Electric-Type quickly created a barrier made of yellow light.

            "That doesn't protect against the physical," Champ warned with a grin. He slammed into the electric mouse and pushed him into the ground, then retreated a decent distance. Almost instantly, sparks of electricity came off him, causing Champ to stop moving.

            Maria let out a low growl. "Right. That Pokemon has the Static ability."

            "Brick Break!" Volkner barked.

            Raichu jumped up from the sand and charged at Champ.

            "Wait for it," Maria murmured. Once the Raichu had gotten close enough, Maria yelled, "Now! Submission!"

            Champ allowed himself to be hit by Raichu's move, only to grab the electric mouse and start to pummel him into submission. Raichu managed to slip away with some health left, but both Trainers could tell that the Pokemon was losing health fast.

            However, Volkner wasn't the kind to back down like that just yet. "Raichu! Try a Brick Break from above!"

            "Right! Here goes nothing!" the Raichu promptly charged at Champ again, then sprang up and came down on the Machoke.

            "Strength!" Maria called out.

            Champ grinned, then threw Raichu down on the beach with enough force to send a large wave of sand flying on the crowd in both directions. When the flying grains had cleared out of the air, everyone saw that Raichu had fainted.

            "Raichu is unable to battle!" Brendan called out. "Champ wins this round."

            Champ grinned at Maria, who gave him two thumbs-up and grinned back.

            Volkner returned Raichu to his PokeBall, and quickly grabbed another one. "You are certainly more experienced than the other Trainers who have challenged me," he noted.

            "I've spent a lot of time training," Maria replied truthfully.

            "And that's good," Volkner stated. "However, it's not everything. Ambipom, you're up!"

            The two-tailed, purple monkey popped out of the next PokeBall and gave Champ his best glare, which only caused the Fighting-Type to burst out in laughter.

            "You have got to be kidding? You're my next opponent?" Champ asked between bits of laughter.

            "Agility," Volkner stated.

            "Champ, get a hold of yourself," Maria hissed as the monkey Pokemon began to suddenly speed up it's movements. "Use Submission to take that thing out!"

            Champ stopped laughing and glared at Ambipom, then launched himself at the Pokemon and beat him into the beach, stopping only when Ambipom's tails swatted him away.

            Champ staggered around on the beach for a moment, panting. "I don't think that...I can...keep...going." He collapsed on the beach.

            "Machoke is unable to battle!" Brendan called out. "Ambipom wins this round."

            The monkey's two tails joined hands in a victory pose.

            "You did a good job, Champ," Maria stated, pulling out his PokeBall. "Take a good rest." She reattached the sphere to her belt and looked back at her remaining Pokemon. "Luke, you're up."

            The Lucario nodded. _"I'm ready."_ He took his position in front of his Trainer, glaring at the Ambipom, who glared back.

            "Now, things are going to get interesting," Volkner noted. "Ambipom, take it out with a Shock Wave."

            The monkey gathered electricity together into the hands at the ends of it's tails, then clapped them together, releasing a wave of electricity in Luke's direction. The Lucario tried to dodge, but it didn't work - the move hit him directly in the chest as he tried to jump over it.

            "Shock Wave never misses," Maria recalled. "Luke, finish off the Normal-Type with an Aura Sphere."

            _"Easily done,"_ Luke replied coolly. He quickly formed a ball of blue energy in his hands and sent it at the Pokemon. The move exploded, and when the blue mist from the blast cleared, Ambipom was lying on the sand, knocked out.

            "Ambipom is unable to battle!" Brendan is called out. "Luke wins this round."

            Volkner nodded in approval as he recalled Ambipom. "Good, good. You know, you actually managed to destroy the Light Screen that Raichu had set up at the beginning of the match."

            Maria looked surprised. "Really? I guess I didn't notice. All my attacks have been physical."

            "Well, you're certainly going to pay more attention to this one," the eighth Gym Leader remarked as he pulled out a third PokeBall. "Luxray!"

            The black, lion-like Electric-Type Pokemon popped out of the sphere. It glared at Luke, eyes narrow. Luke glared back.

            _"It knows Rivalry,"_ Luke warned Maria.

            Maria nodded. "I noticed as soon as the two of you got into a stare contest. Hit him with a Force Palm to jump start the fight."

            _"Right."_ Lucario charged at Luxray and smacked him on the back, pushing him down into the sand. Just as Maria had suspected would happen, sparks of electricity instantly showed up on the black body.

            "Try a Charge Beam!" Volkner ordered.

            The Luxray forced himself up onto his feet, then charged up and fired a beam of electricity from his mouth, hitting Luke, who was unprepared, square in the chest.

            Maria's eyes widened as she saw the Fighting-Type stumble from the attack. She quickly scrambled to pull a pink spray bottle from her backpack. "Luke, get over here! I'm going to give you an energy boost."

            The Lucario limped over to his Trainer, who sprayed his chest with the spray bottle.

            "There," Maria stated. "That should help."

            Luke nodded, then turned around and glared at Luxray, who was still shooting off sparks.

            "Thunder Fang," Volkner stated.

            The Pokemon shook off his paralysis just enough so that he could launch himself at Luke. The Lucario almost dodged, but Luxray managed to bite down on his right arm, causing the Fighting/Steel-Type to cry out in pain. Almost instantly, electricity branched out from that place and covered Luke's body in sparks.

            "Paralysis," Maria muttered. "That's not going to be much of a help."

            "Crunch!" Volkner called out.

            "Close range Aura Sphere!" Maria retorted.

            Luxray bit down harder on Luke's arm, only for the Lucario to blast the Pokemon off with a blue energy sphere from his free hand. Everyone could see that the Electric-Type was having a tough time hanging on, as was Luke.

            "It's okay, Luke," Maria called out. "I've got another Hyper Potion that I can use."

            The Lucario instantly went back to her side, and the Trainer sprayed him on his arm. The Luxray, meanwhile, was eating something that had been in his mane. As soon as Maria had seen what it was the Pokemon was doing, it was already too late: Luxray had some of his energy back.

            "Luxray, use Crunch!" Volkner ordered.

            The Luxray bounded forward and bit down on Luke's right leg this time. Luke quickly shook him off, however.

            "Again!" Volkner called out.

            "Use Aura Sphere!" Maria shouted.

            Right then, the electric sparks decided to intensify, causing the two Pokemon to stop moving towards each other.

            "Fight it, Luxray!" Volkner encouraged.

            The Pokemon nodded and, growling, started to move forward at an achingly slow pace, picking up speed as he went.

            "Come on, Luke!" Maria muttered quietly. "You can do this."

            The Lucario nodded. He started to move, as well, but was too late to dodge. Instead, he took the Crunch attack from Luxray on his left arm, then blasted the Electric-Type away with an Aura Sphere. Now Luxray was starting to look a little ragged.

            "Luxray," Volkner said calmly. The Pokemon turned and walked back to his Trainer, who pulled out a spray bottle that was a little more bulky than the Hyper Potions, as well as colored green rather than pink.

            Maria frowned. "Rats," she muttered. "It's a Full Restore. Luxray isn't going to be paralyzed anymore."

            "Do you have any?" Leon asked from behind her.

            "No; I don't. I'll only have access to them in the PokeMarts after defeating Volkner and getting his Badge. If I were in a different region, I'd have access to the medicine, no problem."

            _"A little help here,"_ Luke said through gritted teeth.

            "Charge Beam!" Volkner called out.

            "Use Quick Attack to dodge!" Maria ordered.

            Luke tried to move, but the paralysis wasn't letting go of him anytime soon. The Charge Beam hit him in the chest.

            "Aura Sphere!" Maria barked.

            Luke nodded, then fired off the blue energy sphere in the Electric-Type's direction. He was then sprayed from behind by a third Hyper Potion curtesy of Maria.

            "Thunder Fang!" Volkner ordered. "Then follow that with a close-range Charge Beam!"

            Luxray charged at Luke, who was once again having a slight problem with the electricity that coated his body. The Electric-Type bit Luke on the left leg, then jumped back as Luke swiped at him with his left paw.

            "Aura Sphere!" Maria shouted.

            "Now!" Volkner roared.

            Luxray fired off the Charge Beam before Luke could even begin to gather the blue energy together. The Pokemon collapsed.

            "Luke!" Maria exclaimed, worried.

            The Lucario let out a grunt. _"I'm fine. Just a little singed at the edges, that's all."_

            Maria smiled with relief.

            "Luke is unable to battle!" Brendan called out. "Luxray wins this round."

            As Maria recalled Luke to his PokeBall, she turned to look up at the Dragon/Steel-Type she had on her team. "You up to it?"

            Dialga looked down at her and gave the Trainer a nod.

            "All right, then. Dialga, you're up!"

            The Legendary Pokemon stepped around Maria and stood in front of Luxray, glaring down at him.

            "What? No fair!" the Electric-Type Pokemon complained. "You can't use him!"

            "On the contrary," Maria replied, showing off Dialga's GreatBall, "I can. AncientPower!"

            Dialga let out a roar, and rocks suddenly materialized around him. In an instant, they were sent hurtling towards Luxray, who didn't have enough time to dodge them.

            Volkner let out a growl. "Luxray, use Crunch!"

            The Pokemon got up from where he had collapsed on the sand and charged Dialga, who didn't bother to even dodge as the smaller creator came closer.

            "Wait for it," Maria murmured.

            As soon as Luxray had latched onto Dialga's left forepaw, Maria yelled, "Now, Dialga! Dragon Claw!"

            The forepaw that Luxray had latched onto was instantly coated in what looked like purple dragon energy and, without even moving a claw, Luxray was instantly covered in slash marks as the move took hold, forcing him to release Dialga's foot as he cried out in pain. The Dragon-Type move had so much of an effect on his body that Luxray collapsed and didn't get back up. Instead, he just lay there, breathing heavily.

            "Luxray is unable to battle!" Brendan called out. "Dialga wins this round."

            "All right!" Maria crowed.

            "This isn't over yet," Volkner replied from where he stood. He returned Luxray to his PokeBall and pulled out one last PokeBall. "This is my trump card. If you can beat him, then you can have the Beacon Badge. If not..." He tossed the PokeBall into the air. "Go, Octillery!"

            The red, octopus-like Pokemon appeared on the beach, and looked up at Dialga.

            Octillery made a gulping noise, eyes wide in fear.

            "Dragon Claw," Maria stated calmly, a smirk on her face.

            The purple energy coated Dialga's right forepaw this time, and he slashed Octillery across the face with it, causing the Pokemon to roll backwards.

            "Octazooka!" Volkner ordered.

            When the Pokemon had righted himself, Octillery unleashed a shot of what looked like condensed ink right at Dialga's face.

            _"Gah!"_ Dialga exclaimed, shaking off the ink. _"I was almost blind for a second there."_

            Maria looked Volkner's last Pokemon over. "It looks like he's on his last legs," she remarked. "You want to go for it and end this now?"

            Dialga looked down at her, then nodded.

            "Then do it," Maria stated with a smirk. "Roar of Time!"

            Dialga let out a ear-splitting shriek, causing the crowd to cover their ears. Octillery, however, didn't have that luxury. Instead, he was suddenly forced out and back into the timeline. This displacement caused instant exhaustion, and the octopus Pokemon collapsed on the sand, defeated.

            _"And that is why one does not travel through time unless they take one of the portals that either I or Celebi can summon,"_ Dialga explained. _"It would cause such a strain on their bodies that they would be torn apart being out of time for a mere five seconds. Octillery was out of time for a mere fraction of a millisecond, and he lost all of his energy. Be that a lesson to you."_

            The humans and Mobians stared at the Legendary.

            Brendan, the first to shake it off, stated, "Octillery can no longer battle, and Volkner is out of Pokemon. The victory goes to Dialga and Maria."

            The effect of these words was instantaneous. The Mobians crowded around Maria and Dialga, congratulating them on their battle.

            "Well done!" Volkner called out from the back of the group. The Mobians parted to let the Gym Leader by. "You certainly deserved this." He handed Maria a badge that looked like some sort of lighthouse. "This is the Beacon Badge. It'll allow you to use the move Waterfall outside of battle, and trust me - you'll need it if you're going to challenge the Elite Four. Also, I think you'll be able to use this." He handed the Trainer a disk, on which was carved, "TM 57."

            "Charge Beam," Maria identified.

            Volkner nodded. "It's a powerful Electric-Type move which can boost your Special Attack if it lands a hit." He smiled at Maria. "Thank you for the battle. You have rekindled my spirit and shown me that there actually are some Trainers out there who can give me a run for my money. I'm going to stay here a while longer, but if no one as powerful as you passes by, I'm going to follow your path to the Elite Four and see if I can beat them myself."

            "We have to see if I can beat them first," Maria replied with a grin. "Thanks, Volkner."

            The Gym Leader nodded, then retreated from the crowd, only for another to take his place - a young woman in a white dress, her light brown hair out up in the form of small wings on either side of her face.

            "Congratulations!" the woman exclaimed, hugging Maria fiercely. "And your Dialga! He's got to be the strongest Steel-Type I've ever seen!"

            "Dragon and Steel, Jasmine," Maria corrected. "He's a Legendary, you know. So, what are you doing here?"

            Jasmine released Maria from her arms. "I've been in need of a vacation, so I came here. Sinnoh really is a beautiful place, Maria. Did you enjoy traveling here?"

            "I most certainly did," Maria confirmed. "Though, it's going to be a bit tough getting to the Pokemon League, considering that I need the HM Waterfall..."

            Jasmine showed Maria a disk. "You mean this? I picked it up a few days back from a merchant who insisted that I take it off his hands before all sorts of Trainers started begging to buy it from him. I know you can find a good use for it."

            Maria grinned. "Thanks, Jasmine! Oh, by the way, Dialga isn't the only Steel-Type in the area. One of my friends as a recently discovered species of Steel-Type with him."

            Jasmine's eyes brightened considerably. "Really? Where?"

            Maria looked around, then caught sight of Tails standing off to one side with his parents. "Hey, Tails! Could you and Gear come over here for a sec? I want you guys to meet someone!"

            The two-tailed fox instantly flew over the crowd of Mobians, the Klingklang at his side, and landed beside Maria. "Who is it that you wanted me to meet?" he asked.

            "Tails, this is Jasmine, a Trainer who specifies in the Steel-Type. She's also the Gym Leader in Olivine City, back in Jhoto," Maria introduced. "Jasmine, this is Miles Prower, known to his friends as Tails. The Pokemon with him is Gear, a Klingklang from the Unova region, and a pure Steel-Type." She grinned. "I'll leave you two to talk about your Pokemon yourselves. I've got to find Lea." With that, she turned and left the two staring after her.

            Maria found Lea talking with Flint, who still had only Infernape and Flareon out, most likely because they refused to leave the action. Lea was showing off his fire abilities, which obviously shocked the Elite Four member.

            "There you are!" Maria exclaimed as she approached the two. "What do you think of Pokemon now, Lea?"

            Lea eyed the Trainer. "I think that they are magical creatures who happen to have a rather important place in this world."

            Flint looked at the two. "You know, I wouldn't mind if you two managed to teach me how to do that fire-throwing thing. Then I'd be able to participate a bit more freely with my Pokemon team's training sessions."

            "I don't know if that's possible," Maria replied. "I mean, you already have Pokemon that can do that. It would get a lot more hectic if people started exhibiting the same abilities."

            "Well, you two do," the red-headed Trainer pointed out.

            "We actually...don't live in the area," Lea replied carefully. "I don't really want to go any further than that."

            Flint frowned, but didn't push the fire user in front of him. Instead, he sighed and shook his head. "All right, then. But how am I going to repay you two for what you've done? I mean, it's not every day that the world is saved."

            "Maybe not in your line of work..." Lea muttered under his breath.

            Maria glared up at the redhead Keyblade user, then said, "Well, if I could get a ride as far as the waterfall, that would be pretty nice. I don't want to push Leon too hard, considering that we have the Elite Four in front of us."

            Flint snapped his fingers. "That's it! I'll take you directly to the Pokemon League, and completely bypass the Victory Road."

            Maria's eyes widened with surprise. "Is that legal?"

            "Well, no."

            "That's what I thought."

            "However, as an Elite Four member, I have the ability to bend the rules a little bit. I mean, you stopping Team Galactic and capturing a Legendary is more than enough to get you into the Pokemon League. I'll talk it over with Arthur and the others when we get there. So, what do you say?"

            Maria's eyes sparkled. "I'll go along for the ride, but I'm still going to use the Victory Road as my training grounds until my team can beat Cynthia's."

            Flint laughed. "That's the spirit! Cynthia's Garchomp was actually going to come around and pick me up when I was done visiting Volt. It should be here pretty soon."

            Maria nodded. "All right, then. I'll let my friends know where I'm going to be going; we still have a few things that we have to take care of."

            Flint smirked. "You go do that."

            As Maria walked back over to where the Mobians stood, Sonic caught sight of her and zoomed over.

            "So, what were you talking about with those two?" he asked.

            "Flint just offered me a ride to the Elite Four directly," Maria explained. "However, there's only room for me and my Pokemon, meaning that this is where we part ways."

            Sonic looked surprised. "Really? I'd thought we'd have been able to hang out some more with you."

            "You probably can, after I defeat Cynthia. However, I'd suggest that you create a team of Pokemon, much like how Tails has two Pokemon with him now, before you try and do that. It'll make battling other Trainers a lot easier, and the Elite Four don't use just one."

            Sonic frowned, considering her words. "I don't suppose that you have any extra PokeBalls for us to use?"

            "I can get you guys started off with a few, but you're going to have to buy what other supplies you'll need. You can get the money from battling Trainers."

            Sonic smirked, understanding where she was going. "I think I can handle that." He then remembered something. "Oh, yeah! Did you see what Dad was doing? He said that Palkia gave him his speed when he turned him back to normal!"

            "He told me about that," Maria remarked. "Palkia said that the world needed a speedster, and since you were in this time, it makes sense that your dad would be the one to take over the title."

            Scarlet, Magenta, and Keith came over, with Zap and Zel riding on Drake.

            "So, you're going to the Elite Four now," Scarlet remarked.

            Maria nodded. "And as I was telling Sonic, this is where we part ways. Flint's offered me a ride to the Pokemon League, and there's only room for me and him."

            Magenta sighed. "I was hoping to get to spend more time with you guys!"

            "Sorry, Magenta. However, we'll probably meet up again sometime. So, what are you guys planning on doing?"

            "We were actually considering heading back to Almia," Keith replied, glancing back at Drake. "Since we have a pair of wings of our own, it won't be too much trouble."

            "It's going to be nice, seeing Mom and Dad again," Scarlet added. "Though it's probably going to take a while for them to get used to our new forms."

            Maria nodded. "I know the feeling. Mom and Dad had to get used to me having my fire abilities and my staff." She frowned. "Though, you've physically changed, so that's a pretty big difference between your and my situations."

            Scarlet nodded in agreement. "Good luck with the Elite Four. You're going to need it."

            Maria smirked. "I've faced three others, remember? Another Elite Four won't be so bad."

            "Where is the Pokemon League, anyway?" Magenta inquired.

            Maria pointed to the north, beyond where the beach ended. "It over the sea in that direction. The only way to get to it is by water, unless you've been there before; then you can fly. At the end of the water route is a waterfall that you can only go up with a hidden move of the same name." She showed the disk that Jasmine had given her. "This is the Hidden Machine Waterfall, which will allow me to climb up that waterfall. That is, if Flint actually can't allow me to bypass the waterfall and Victory Road."

            Just then, Flint came over. "I just called Cynthia," he told Maria. "She says I can get you there directly, but you have to fight every Trainer in Victory Road before you can actually challenge us."

            "I thought as much," Maria remarked. "When is Garchomp going to come and pick us up?"

            "Tomorrow," the Elite Four member replied. "I've already been gone a bit too long for anyone's tastes."

            Maria nodded in agreement. "Yeah; don't want any challengers to come while you're gone."

            Flint chuckled at the statement. "Well, I'll leave you to your friends. Volt and I have a lot to catch up on." With that, he turned and ran off towards Volkner, who was conversing with his own Pokemon.

            Magenta looked Maria over. "How do you do it?"

            Maria frowned. "How do I do what?"

            "Keep your calm in a Pokemon Battle. Aren't you worried that you're going to lose?"

            "Well, sure I am," Maria replied. "I just try not to show it in front of the competition. If I were, say, competing against one of my siblings in a video game competition back home, then I'd be more liable to show my emotions."

            Sonic frowned. "How long have you done this, exactly?" he inquired.

            "In real time, I've been battling as and with Pokemon for about seven years," Maria stated. "Back at home, I've played this stuff for five years or so. All together, that makes about twelve years of experience with Pokemon."

            "Twelve years?" Keith repeated. "That can't be right."

            "Time passes differently in our different worlds," Maria remarked. "A few years here could be anywhere between a few seconds to a couple months at most back at home."

            "Hey, Maria!"

            The Trainer's head turned, and she saw Black approaching with Knuckles, Julie-Su, Maggie, and Vent.

            "What's up, guys?" Maria inquired.

            "We're going to head out," Knuckles explained. "Black's offered us a ride to that shrine where the Master Emerald is located. We're heading out now."

            Sonic smirked. "What, couldn't stand our company anymore, Knux?"

            Knuckles smiled wryly. "I just want to get back to my job as Guardian. Is there anything wrong with that?"

            "There's nothing wrong with getting back to your job," Maria remarked. "It's probably best if you get there. Landerous is probably going to want to test your abilities as a Guardian."

            "Landerous?" Julie-Su repeated. "Who's that?"

            "A Legendary Pokemon who lives at the Abundant Shrine," Black explained. "It's been said that wherever the Pokemon goes, the land instantly becomes fertile. He's also known for calming down Thunderous and Tornadus, a pair of storm-causing Pokemon that ravaged the region a few hundred years ago."

            Maria nodded in confirmation. "Have you actually met one of the trio? There's an old lady en route to Mistraliton that actually knows a thing or two about them."

            Black gave her an odd look, then shook his head, a smirk on his face. "Actually, I have; however, I haven't used Thunderous because he's unpredictable in battle."

            "Like... Move-wise or chaotic-weather wise?"

            "The second."

            Maria's eyebrows went up and she nodded slowly in understanding. "I had the same sort of problem with Groudon and Kyogre. Their weather abilities were a bit hard to deal with at first, but I managed to get used to it. Having Groudon use a SolarBeam during a drought comes to be a great advantage. Same with Kyogre's WaterSpout during a rainstorm."

            Black looked surprised. "Really? I'll keep that sort of tactic in mind and give Thunderous another try." He looked at the two echidnas. "You two ready to go?"

            "That's what we've been waiting for," Julie-Su replied calmly.

            "Then let's get going. We've got quite a journey ahead of us."

            Black turned and let out a whistle, getting the attention of Zekrom, who was conversing with Dialga over one thing or another. The Dragon/Electric-Type flew over, picked up the group, then flew off over the sea to the northeast.

            As Maria watched them go, Tails and Eggman came over with Gear, Vanessa, and Metal.

            "Hey, Maria," Tails greeted. "Where's Knuckles going off to?"

            "Unova," Scarlet replied. "Black is helping Knuckles and Julie-Su get to the Master Emerald, which is at the Abundant Shrine."

            "Really?" Eggman seemed surprised.

            "It's protected by a Pokemon that can easily stop a pair of storm-causing traveling Pokemon, so I wouldn't bother trying to do anything concerning that bauble of Chaos Energy." Maria gave the egg-shaped man a meaningful look.

            Eggman looked a little nervous. "I'm not doing that anymore, remember?"

            "Besides, he's actually looking around for a job," Tails added. "Do you have any suggestions?"

            Maria frowned for a moment, then smiled. "I do have a couple ideas," she admitted. "There's a company in Saffron, Kanto called Silph. They were the first company to start making PokeBalls and other such items that can help Trainers. The second is in Rustburough, Hoenn, referred to as Stone Corporations. They created a device called the PokeNavigator, or PokeNav for short, as well as newer versions of PokeBalls, ways to regenerate Pokemon from fossils, and possible cloning, but I didn't look into that last one at all. Either place could benefit from your intelligence, so long as you don't do anything rash."

            Eggman chuckled nervously. "I'll keep that in mind."

            Maria looked at Tails. "So, what are you going to do?"

            "I'm going to travel around with Sonic and get stronger," Tails replied, grinning at the blue hedgehog. "After that, I'm going to see if I can open my own lab somewhere."

            Maria smiled. "Might I suggest a location near the Ranger Union in Almia? I'm sure Professor Hastings would love someone to bounce ideas for the Ranger Stylers off you. Working with a group of lab assistants that are always around and have a lower IQ than he does can get to be a little boring. Or, you could set up a place near one of the Pokemon Professor's labs. PokeDexes are always in need of upgrading."

            Tails nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." He looked over at Gear. "What region do you think we should start in first, Sonic?"

            "I was thinking about Kanto," Sonic replied. "That Professor Oak guy would probably be thrilled to meet another Mobian."

            "He's the inventor of the original PokeDex," Maria explained.

            Tails' eyes brightened. "Really?"

            Maria nodded. "His original dream to discover all the Pokemon species in the world is now shared by multiple Trainers all across the regions. At least, those who aren't only interested in training their Pokemon to be their strongest."

            Eggman looked intrigued. "Strongest Pokemon," he repeated quietly. "What an interesting concept."

            "Don't bother trying to make it happen," Maria replied calmly. "A lot of Trainers have claimed to have the strongest Pokemon, only to be defeated by a Pokemon of a different Type, a higher level, or higher Attack. There is no such thing as 'the strongest Pokemon'. Trust me."

            Eggman nodded, getting the message.

            Sonic looked at Paul, who nodded in agreement to some unspoken statement.

            "We should probably get going," Sonic remarked. "You ready to go, Tails?"

            Tails nodded. "Let's make a quick stop at Sandgem before we leave and pick up the Tornado. It wouldn't be right if we left it there for Professor Rowan to take care of."

            Maria nodded in agreement. "The trip isn't very long. It shouldn't be too much of a problem."

            The two other Mobians nodded, then Sonic jumped onto Paul's back and Tails recalled Vanessa and Gear into their PokeBalls, then took off into flight as Paul took off into the sky.

            "Good luck, guys!" Maria called after them.

            "The same to you!" Sonic called back.

            Amy ran forward as Sonic and Tails disappeared into the sky. "Where are they going?" she asked.

            "Kanto," Maria replied. "Are you planning on following them there?"

            "Actually, I was planning on traveling all over and compete in different Contests," the pink hedgehog replied. "Sally's going to travel with me for a little while, then we're going to split paths when we run into Sonic next."

            "If we manage to run into him," Sally corrected as she came over with Nicole and Puff. "Are you ready to go, Amy?"

            "Ready!" Amy replied with a smile.

            "Then let's get going." Sally turned to look at Maria. "Thanks for all you've done."

            "We'll be cheering you on," Amy added, her smile becoming a happy grin. "Good luck fighting the Elite Four!"

            "Thanks," Maria replied. "Good luck in your contests. I'm sure you're going to do great."

            Amy nodded happily, then ran off with Sally and the others.

            Magenta then caught sight of a certain black-furred hedgehog. "Hey, Shadow! Where are you planning on going?"

            Shadow looked over in her direction. "On my own journey. You know all you need to know about Chaos Energy from me. What you do with it is your own choice." With that, he and Snarl walked off into the city and out of sight.

            Scarlet looked at Maria. "Well, it looks like everyone else has left. We should probably get going, too."

            "I should as well," Eggman agreed.

            "You can ride with us!" Magenta suggested. "Is there any place that you want to be dropped off?"

            Eggman thought for a moment. "I believe that starting in Hoenn wouldn't be such a bad idea. "

            "We can stop off there for supplies on our way to the mainland," Scarlet agreed. "You ready to go, Eggman?"

            "The name is Julian," Eggman stated calmly. "I would prefer it of you kept that in mind. And yes, I am prepared."

            The group then climbed onto Drake's back (Keith had recalled Zel in order to make more room) and flew off.

            Maria looked around at the remains of the crowd, which included the Mobians of the past, Brendan, Lea, Flint, Volkner, and what Pokemon hadn't fainted in the Pokemon battle. She managed to catch Dialga's line of vision, then nodded once.

            _"May I have your attention?"_ Dialga's mental voice caught the attention of the remains of the crowd. _"It's time for the creatures from the past to return home. I have enough energy to open a Passage of Time, but it won't stay open for long."_

            "The children have already left on their own journeys," Jules called up to Dialga. "We won't keep you waiting."

            The Legendary nodded in confirmation. _"Very well."_ He then let out a loud roar, and a blue portal opened in front of him, which then revealed the streets of New Mobotropolis.

            Maria ran over to Jules. "Good luck. Eggman may be out of the business, but that doesn't mean that the rest of his army isn't. I guarantee that Snivelly, Regina Ferrum, and the rest of them are going to try to take over as soon as they realize that Sonic is missing."

            The hedgehog nodded. "Don't worry; I still have the majority of the Freedom Fighters, as well as my wife and my brother. I appreciate your concern, though."

            Maria smiled. "Maybe, someday, I could visit Mobius properly and see you guys and bust a few Badniks."

            Jules smiled. "Perhaps," he agreed. He turned to look at Bernadette and Charles. "You two ready to go?"

            Bernadette nodded, as did the older mechanic.

            "Then let's go home." With that, the three hedgehogs walked through the Passage of Time and returned to their part of the timeline. The other Mobians then began to leave, as well. Eventually, Elias was the only one who hadn't left.

            "Hey, Maria," the Mobian greeted.

            "Hey, Elias," Maria replied. "Is something wrong?"

            Sally's brother sighed. "I'm really going to miss Sally."

            Maria smiled sadly. "I know the feeling. I've got a little sister and a pair of brothers back at home who I haven't seen for a while. But, hey - you still get the chance to see her, if and when Dialga gathers enough energy to make his Passages of Time. Now, you'd better get going - after all, you have a nation to rule."

            Elia nodded, determination crossing his face. "Right!" He smiled. "Thanks for letting me see my sister again."

            "It was the least I could do," Maria replied as she returned the smile.

            The royal squirrel nodded, then turned and leapt into the Passage of Time, which closed behind him.

            Maria looked over at Brendan. "So, what are you planning on doing?"

            "I'm actually heading out for Unova tomorrow," the Trainer replied. "That place has a lot of unique Pokemon that I've never seen before, and which I think Dad'll be very interested in researching."

            Maria smiled. "I'm planning on heading there, too, once I've beaten the Elite Four of this region. Obtaining a complete encyclopedia of all Pokemon species is still one of my top goals, after all."

            Brendan chuckled. "And it isn't in you to drop a goal like that." He looked over at Lea. "And where'll you be heading off to?"

            Lea frowned. "I've got a few things to take care of around here before I go off traveling. The Heartless don't belonging this world, so it's going to be my job to hunt them down and take them back to where they belong."

            "I think the only group was the one in that underwater base," Maria remarked, pointing to the Pokemon Rock. "But if you want to search the whole world for them, knock yourself out."

            Lea gave his friend a glare. "You should be helping me, you know that?"

            Maria nodded. "I'm aware of that. However, Heartless are actually only a part of your home - the Disney Kingdom. I highly doubt that there are any Heartless beyond what we saw."

            Brendan's eyes widened. "Are you saying that he's from another world?"

            Maria nodded. "That's right. Lea comes from another nexus of worlds referred to as the Disney Kingdom. His home there is located in a place called Radiant Garden."

            Brendan grinned with delight. "This is great! Are you saying there are other worlds out there? A place that Deoxys' original genetic makeup might have come from?"

            "It's possible," Maria replied.

            "Deoxys?" Lea repeated. "Who's that?"

            "He's a Pokemon that was supposed to have mutated from a mere bacteria into a Pokemon with incredible power," Brendan explained. "Maria captured him some time ago."

            " 'Capture' is a Trainer term meaning 'I have cemented a bond with this Pokemon'," Maria added when she saw the look of shock on her friend's face. "Actual capturing is coined as 'poaching,' especially when it concerns taking Pokemon from their Trainers and using them as nothing more than tools."

            Brendan flinched. "Not a happy memory," he muttered.

            Lea gave the Trainer a curious look, but didn't press too much.

            Maria looked over the group. "So, anything you guys want to do?"

            Brendan smiled. "You know, a night on the town doesn't seem to be all that bad of an idea. Besides, as second in our race, you owe me!"


	47. Chapter 47

            **Epilogue**

            The house was quiet, which was natural for a mid-summer day. All the kids were out visiting friends and having a good time...despite the fact that one of them was missing from the summer's festivities. This worried the parents of the family to no end.

            "She's been gone for over a week," the mother remarked as she paced the kitchen, green eyes anxious. "I'm worried."

            "I know, Katie," the father replied from where he sat at the kitchen table, his blue eyes calm. "However, that doesn't mean that she can't take care of herself."

            Katie stopped pacing and looked at her husband. "That doesn't stop me from worrying about Maria, Morgen. Especially because she doesn't know about the storms that -"

            As if on cue, the room was suddenly illuminated by a strange, blue glow that came from a floating blue sphere beside the stove, giving Katie's black hair and Morgen's brown hair odd hues.

            The sphere then expanded into a rippling portal, out of which came a familiar figure.

            "Hi, Mom; hey, Dad," the figure greeted as the portal vanished.

            "Maria, where have you been?" Katie suddenly burst out. "You've been gone for over a week!"

            Maria was surprised. "Really? Only that long? It's felt like I've been gone for about eight years." She dropped her backpack on one of the kitchen chairs and removed a wallet from her right jeans pocket. Opening it up, she removed five cards of different colors and dropped them on the table. "That's what I've been doing. Also, this." Maria dug into a pants pocket and removed her Pokemon Exploration Team Badge, dropping it on the table with a clang.

            Morgen picked up a red card. "Kanto Trainer License?" he asked with a frown.

            Maria nodded. "The Pokemon world is quite a diverse place; besides, I kinda lost my memory when I was going to save the world. I've got it all back now, though." She looked around at the kitchen. "I'm glad to be back."

            "What happened?" Katie inquired.

            Maria let out a sigh. "Well, I ended up going to the bad future of one of the video games - specifically, this one, where time stopped." She tapped the Exploration Badge. "With my knowledge of the area, as well as the gift from the Atlantean Crystal, I eventually found Grovyle and Celebi and traveled back in time with the knowledge of the locations of the Time Gears. However, as is to be expected, Darkrai attacked us as we went back in time. I took the brunt of the attack and was sent to the beach present day, now with amnesia and in the form of a Pokemon that looked like a fox with six tails - specifically, a Vulpix. In this form, I met up with an electric mouse - a Pikachu named Pika - and the two of us saved the world twice. Once from becoming the bad future I had seen, and once from a Pokemon who wanted to create a never-ending nightmare. After that, Palkia turned me back into a human, but turned back my age for one reason or another, turning me into a ten-year-old."

            "A Pokemon can do that?" Morgen asked. "I find that rather hard to believe."

            "Palkia is the embodiment of space in their world," Maria replied with a shrug. "Changing my form wasn't a problem for him. Anyway, after I started journeying around and following the events of the Pokemon games. However, I still had to regain my memories from before my accident in the Passage of Time. It was only six years later, when I was sixteen again, that I regained my memories; I was in Sinnoh by then."

            "Why didn't you come home?" Katie demanded.

            "Because that world had a bit of a problem," Maria explained. "You see, the Legendary Pokemon got it into their heads that the planet would end up combining with one from another kingdom - specifically, Mobius."

            Morgen became surprised. "You must be joking."

            "I kid you not. I've got pictures of us from before I came back." Maria dug into her backpack and gave her father a small pile of photos, which depicted Maria, Brendan, Black, and the Mobians goofing off with their Pokemon and each other near the Master Emerald. "Apparently, thanks to Super Smash Bros Brawl, the SEGA and Nintendo Kingdoms had to join together by way of two worlds, which turned out to be the Pokemon World and Mobius. Mobius fused in the far-flung past of the Pokemon World, and Sonic and some of his friends were taken to the future, or the present, as the case may be. I was one of the people who helped them adjust. After that, I went to Unova and then came back home."

            Maria leaned back against the refrigerator, smirking. "I actually met Lea while I was there - Yen Sid had sent him when he'd sensed Heartless in the area. Team Galactic was using them as a power source."

            Katie was surprised. "Heartless? In the Nintendo Kingdom? That's not possible."

            "If we can cross over to other worlds, then it makes sense that the Heartless managed to cross over as well," Maria replied. "So, what happened here?"

            Katie and Morgen exchanged glances.

            "Nothing much," Morgen stated calmly. "Just a minor thunderstorm."

            Maria frowned slightly, looking at both her parents. Something felt oddly off about the two of them...

            The teenager shook her head. "Well, at least nothing bad happened. I would have known."

            With that, she collected her items and started up the stairs towards her room in order to drop off everything.

            Katie gave her husband a glare. "A 'minor thunderstorm'? That thing could have taken out all of us worldwide!"

            "But it didn't, so we don't have to worry," Morgen replied.

            "I don't know... It could be them..."

            Morgen started to laugh, but when he saw the look on his wife's face, he paused. "You think?"

            Katie scrunched her eyebrows together, looking concerned and also lost in thought. "Yes. I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got hints at things happening back in Maria's dimension. :) I'll recover what happened there in Adventures 5-7.


End file.
